{"id":40163,"date":"2017-06-20T16:21:54","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T08:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/?p=40163"},"modified":"2017-06-20T17:05:27","modified_gmt":"2017-06-20T09:05:27","slug":"the-joy-of-being-unimportant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/2017\/06\/20\/the-joy-of-being-unimportant\/","title":{"rendered":"The joy of being unimportant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

(That’s not me \u2013 but it’s Mr. T, and we’re in Zakopane)<\/h6>\n

I feel almost apologetic when I have to say that I was busy, seeing how the word has turned into a bit of a reviled creature that’s brought up to the table from time to time in an immodest show. But to be honest, it\u00a0feels like I’ve woken up a bit, and I’m happy to report that I was<\/em> busy (not in a look-at-me way, but in a\u00a0look-I’m-really-running-around way).<\/p>\n

I’m also now aware of how unimportant I am\u00a0(woohoo!)\u00a0and therefore should not take this blog as seriously. It seems like all the cool people are on Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, so it’s a moment of revelation that’s\u00a0very liberating!<\/p>\n

And so here I am,\u00a0breaking a bit from my usual format to do a\u00a0quick recap lest I myself forgot what I was up to:<\/p>\n

I was away in Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, Zakopane) and Singapore. The former\u00a0was for a much-needed break, and the latter\u00a0was for teaching, and learning (although I have to say the learning never completely stops for me, even while on vacation).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Utagawa Hiroshige – Sudden Rain in Shono<\/a>)<\/h6>\n

In Poland, I went to an exhibition that featured rare ukiyo-e prints from Japan<\/a>, and featured the works of\u00a0Utagawa Hiroshige,\u00a0Keisai Eisen, and\u00a0Katsushika Hokusai among many others.\u00a0The exhibition also showed how each imprint was made (wood-block carvings) and then layered together to form a complete print. It blew my mind to be able to see these prints so up close, along with the artist’s sketchbooks and other books, most notably Hokusai’s books.<\/p>\n

We went to a lot of places in Poland. The Army Museum, the Poster museum, the Chopin Museum, Flying Tiger, etc. We ate a lot. The food was so, so good and we’ll go again in a heartbeat!<\/p>\n

I also went to Auschwitz. It made me\u00a0angry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An article I wrote for Communication Arts<\/a> came out in May, where I interviewed collectives like Peepshow, the OIC in Singapore and the wonderful ladies of Parallel Universe, on\u00a0how they run their outfit. Seeing my name in print never gets old!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Koji Yamamura image from Raksasa Print)<\/h6>\n

I was fortunate enough to attend a talk by Koji Yamamura<\/a>, an animator from Japan at Raksasa Print’s animation fest, and came away from the session with a fresh appreciation for moving images (he creates them by drawing. every. single. frame. WHOA).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I facilitated a workshop at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content<\/a>, where I spent 4 days with other amazing facilitators and equally inspiring participants, where we talked, breathed\u00a0and just soaked in stories and images. The conference after, where I also spoke, that was the icing on the cake as well \u2013 it’s where I met with many other amazing illustrators and teachers, where we\u00a0chatted over coffee and lunch breaks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I took part in a zine workshop, held by one my favorite artists \u2013 PiXin<\/a> in Singapore while I was there too. I wrote poetry, and created a 8 page zine in 15 minutes (because I had to rush off). It reminded me of how I wasn’t creating enough, since everyone almost always has 15 minutes in a day.<\/p>\n

I’m currently teaching my first every online class after 2 years, it’s called Find Your Personal Artistic Style<\/a>, and I can’t believe how long I’ve put it off.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My students successfully ran their very first bazaar, selling products that they’ve carefully crafted, with stories behind their collection. I’m very proud of them for coming this far, since it was done on their own volition. To be extra sure \u2013 since it happened the last time \u2013 I collected $20 from each student for safekeeping to make sure they don’t flake out or renege on their word. I’m happy to report that they all got their $20 back.<\/p>\n

Semester at the local art college has also begun, and I’m guiding students on creating abstract work for their first assignment, and gearing up for their final assignment \u2013 a personal story turned into a zine.<\/p>\n

On Skillshare<\/a>, I’ve re-learnt new things through video tutorials \u2013 very useful tools like using the Shape Builder Tool for Adobe Illustrator (where have I been?!) and also the basics of Adobe After Effects to see how I can use this for new projects.<\/p>\n

I’m also researching\u00a0quite a bit\u00a0about illustrative branding, illustration in tech and in use for mobile apps for a commission I’m working on, and it’s a fascinating niche where I’m enjoying myself while learning new things along the way.<\/p>\n

———<\/p>\n

If the months of April, May and June have taught me anything, it’s that I can do a lot more everyday. I’ve never created so much in the past 3 months, and I’m trying to see if I can keep up the momentum of making.<\/p>\n

Especially the part where I\u00a0create just for fun. Because that’s a lot more important.<\/p>\n

Now that’s<\/em>\u00a0harder to do.<\/p>\n

What have you been up to lately?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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