Beneath the Surface

Like the ocean, human hearts are deep and mysterious. This comic is a reflection on my first time at the ocean and overcoming shyness.

I made this comic for an exhibition at The Light Grey Art Lab called STACKS. It's based on an impactful moment in my life, from the year 2010, when I took part in a residency for comic artists at The Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida.

This project kept me busy during the Spring of 2014. So at long last, I present to you:

Merry Christmas

This is the Christmas card I made for my fellow middle school teachers.

Happy new year, everyone! By the way, I moved to Japan!

As of July 2014, I've been working with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) as an assistant English language teacher in Sapporo, Japan. That is why I haven't updated this blog in quite a long time... Now that I'm getting my footing here, I hope to return to more regular art-making and blog-posting. Thank you for staying with me through my bout of inactivity. c: I'm really sorry about that!

Living in Japan has been a lifelong dream of mine. I've recently started a new blog to document some of my experiences during my one-year stay. So, if you're ready to explore the world of anime, manga, and all things cute in Salin-a-vision, then drop by sometime and see what I'm up to! ~Salina's Life in Japan~  EDIT: Oops! I wound up only posting to that blog once, so I deleted it. Here's the post though: It's about shodo, Japanese calligraphy.

As always, thank you for your support! I wish you happiness in 2015! Cheers! (Or as they say in Japan, "kanpai"!)

Shodo Class: Calendar

Today, I went to Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) class for the first time. It was a lucky day to go, because Sagara sensei had us make calendars!

Apparently there are a ton of different ways to write the months of the year and the four seasons. I was given these handouts, from which I could choose the kanji I liked best.

There are nine different ways to write each month. These sheets are read from right to left, so January begins on the right and spans three columns. Then, February begins in the fourth box from the right and so on.

January, February, and March

April, May, and June

July, August, and September

October, November, and December

I asked, "What do they mean? Do they evoke different images?" I didn't get a translation for each and every variation, but as you can see in the photos, I noted a few of them. Some of the kanji for the winter months meant "Spring," so I didn't choose those ones for my calendar. Sagara sensei said that those ones are better for people living on Honshu, the mainland, further south than us.

Here are the translations (as I understood them) for the kanji I chose:

January : first month
February : second month
March : chilly
April : field of mustard (canola flowers)なのはな
May : orange blossoms たちばな
June : wait wind (waiting for the wind)
July : star festival おれひめ?
August : south wind
September : a long night
October : a cold autumn lane
November : cold wind
December : the last month
On my calendar, I placed kanji for the seasons above the months. There are also many different ways to write the seasons. The kanji on the left sides of the photos below are very ancient. The kanji on the right sides are newer. I chose to use the most common kanji for the seasons, so that I can learn to recognize them. The most common kanji for each season is the one in each upper right corner.

Winter kanji

Spring kanji

Summer kanji

Fall kanji

After I chose my kanji and drew them, I picked out which papers I wanted to frame them in and set out my pattern.

Paper-pickin'

Glue stick time

All done!

This would be an easy project to do at home, for anyone interested. I used a simple brush pen for the calligraphy. The patterned paper is from Daiso, I believe (a Japanese dollar store). Daiso has a bunch of locations on the west coast in the US, too. So, that's all... Thanks for reading! c:

Stacks Exhibition ~ Preview

Hi everyone! My big spring-and-summer project this year was a short comic for a zine exhibition at Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis.

"The show takes viewers on a journey through time, 1984-2014, seen through the eyes of sixty creatives. [...] It is a celebration of our recent history and the moments that have shaped us all! " -Light Grey Art Lab

I was assigned to the year 2010. This was a big year for me in many ways,  so I put a lot of thought into what slice of my life I wanted to illustrate. Here is just a little preview.... I'll share the whole thing soon! If you live in Minneapolis, the opening reception is on August 1st. You can go have fun reading zines by artists from around the world! 

Here's the finished comic!

Justin and Salina's Short Long Beach Adventure

Memorial Day at Long Beach! Also, I had a funnel cake for the first time. Mmm...

Life Drawing ~ Pretty Ballerinas

Tonight, the ballerina Olivia Gomez modeled at the Center Stage Gallery. The poses in the first image were 2 minutes long. The rest are 5 minute poses.

Life Drawing ~ Yakuza

On April 24th, Jee Teo modeled as a Japanese Yakuza at Center Stage Gallery. The first image is a two minute drawing and the rest are five minute drawings.