Dancing Heron

eschergirls: ami-angelwings: A single panel comic created by...

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:12:53 -0400

ami-angelwings:

A single panel comic created by York University students Jane Kim, Shayna Lauer, Helén Marton to raise awareness about sexual assault and combat victim blaming.

Article from the Toronto Star about it here.

This sounds like a good campaign, and taking a different tactic to raising awareness and getting people’s attention, hopefully people get the message and don’t just laugh it off.

I know the obvious point is “it would be ridiculous if Superman was blamed because he wore tights right?” But, I think using Superman is also really powerful, because (besides the use of him in tights to send the message about clothing) it shows that no matter how physically powerful you are, or if you’re a man, you can still be assaulted. The clothing message is the obvious one, but by using a powerful superhero icon, there’s also the messages about not victim blaming people by speculating on if they could have fought back, or inventing ways of how they could have fought back (and therefore should have) or “but you’re so much bigger than them”, “why didn’t you try to escape?”, or that you must believe somebody has to be “weak” to be a victim of sexual assault (either claiming they must have wanted it because they’re not that “weak”, or insisting that they are because they were assaulted).

And if we can believe Superman can be assaulted, then maybe we can believe the non-powered people we meet IRL when they say so too.

I wanted to share this because it’s about superheroes and feminism, and using superheroes to get a really important message out.

Because even when we feel like nothing can hurt us, we still can be hurt.

thegorgonist: Queen Bowser Ah, Bowser. Lovable loser....

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:25:27 -0400

thegorgonist:

Queen Bowser

Ah, Bowser. Lovable loser. Spike-enthusiast. Lava landscaper. Princess-botherer. Mario’s sworn enemy who is sometimes his reluctant ally. And now—a badass lady! I think this Bowser finally has a chance to beat Mario.

(you can get one here)

My good friend has been hard at work adding to her Mario Girls series. I think Queen Bowser should be canon, because she will just blow you away. ;) Dunno if I should apologize for that pun or not….

Last summer was hot and I often sought refuge in a nearby park a...

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:11:26 -0400

Last summer was hot and I often sought refuge in a nearby park a short walk away. While I was sitting underneath the white oak trees, I noticed all the metallic blue dragonflies zipping around in the foliage hunting gnats. They flew in so close to my head I feared I would going experience a collision with the aerialists.

The past few years had been hard and certainly taken their toll on me. I had long forgotten the last time I smiled with more then my mouth. Reconnecting with nature helped me come to this realization and it was then I found that I could begin to smile with my heart again.

I suppose that the dragonfly isn’t an unexpected symbol of metamorphosis, but for me personally, they have always been a herald to my personal epiphanies and transitions. While working on this motif exercise, I realized that they have always been an unspoken symbol in my life, even since I was a long legged, clumsy girl.

I suppose while I am playing with personal spiritual symbols, I suppose I need to do something a heron. :)

Looks like I will be logging in some quality Netflix time...

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:02:08 -0400

Looks like I will be logging in some quality Netflix time bagging my prints over next couple of days.

martinekenblog: Beijing-based artist Huang Yan expertly...

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:30:03 -0400

martinekenblog:

Beijing-based artist Huang Yan expertly emulates traditional paintings from the Song Dynasty of Chinese landscapes on the human body. While the style and art of painting is a traditional practice, the choice to use the human form as a canvas adds new meaning to the works. The contemporary artist’s series, aptly titled Chinese Landscapes, presents a visual relationship between man and nature through his expert application.

(via)

TEDTalks shareTony Robbins: Why we do what we do Thought this...

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:40:14 -0400

TEDTalks share
Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do

Thought this is very interesting talk and I found bit closely represents much of my personal philosophy about drive and the drive to give back.

Journey art study #2. I wanted to play more with color palates...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:22:58 -0400

Journey art study #2. I wanted to play more with color palates and contrasts (second of the two things I have seen that I love about the aesthetic of the game).

Journey is one of those games that makes me wish I had a PS3 or...

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:14:34 -0400

Journey is one of those games that makes me wish I had a PS3 or access to one, at least. It is just a lovely and atmospheric game and I am delighted to try my best to appeal to those who have requested fanart from me.

fuckyeahchinesemyths: coolchicksfromhistory: Qin Liangyu...

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:45:36 -0400

fuckyeahchinesemyths:

coolchicksfromhistory:

Qin Liangyu (1574-1646)

Art by Sertan Saral (tumblr)

From an early age, Liangy learned martial arts, horseback riding, and archery. At the age of 20, she married a local Sichuan commander named Ma Qiancheng. Together they maintained the peace in an area rife with warlords and insurrections.

Qiancheng died in 1613 and Liangyu took over his position. In 1620, the Nvzhen ethnic minority declared independence from the Ming Dynasty. Liangy led an army to defeat them, selling her own belonging to fund the campaign. Ten years later the Manchu threatened Beijing. Liangy once again led an army supported by her own funds and defeated the insurgents. The Chongzhen Emperor commemorated her victory with commissioned poetry.

The Ming Dynasty fell in 1644. Amid the turmoil, Liangy’s lands remained relative calm and agriculturally productive. She is believed to have helped 100,000 refugees find homes in Shizhu.

An active leader until her death at age 75, Liangy was named Grand Protector of the Crowned Prince by the Southern Ming Emperor She remains one of the highest ranking female warriors in Chinese history.

Qin Liangyu is not the real Mulan. Mulan is fictional character who predates Liangyu by several hundred years.

Read my posts about Qin Liangyu here and here.

Playing with a totoro. I enjoyed composing such a round cute...

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:47:29 -0400

Playing with a totoro. I enjoyed composing such a round cute creature.

Buttons! Lots of buttons backed and stuffed for Fanime. Ended...

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:28:44 -0400

Buttons! Lots of buttons backed and stuffed for Fanime.

Ended chatting with two actors who talked about the experiences with working on the sets of Grimm,Leverage, and America’s Got Talent. Even sold some product.

I love having the opportunity to meet people who are living their passion and are willing to talk about it.

Well, why do you just look at that lovely map! Here is where you...

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:39:18 -0400

Well, why do you just look at that lovely map! Here is where you can find my friend, Robin Kaplan and I, in the alley come next Friday. There is going to be a lot of awesome stuff, that is all I can say. :)

Phew, got all my cards folded, bagged, and sorted. Slowly make...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:36 -0400

Phew, got all my cards folded, bagged, and sorted. Slowly make progress on my prep work for Fanime.

As of this morning, I now know my table number, but I am still waiting on the map layout. Once that is made available to me, you can rest assured I will keep you well informed. :)

Now off to work on some more art. :)

Briar roses are in full bloom at my apartment. Between the rose...

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:22:11 -0400

Briar roses are in full bloom at my apartment. Between the rose hedges, the lush maple trees, verdant mossy rocks, and the bubbling stream I feel like I live a in little slice of a fairytale world for a few brief months.

Figured that this would be a good botanical study for today. This also ended up being a rather amazing repeat pattern. I think I would play with the asymmetry would be my next tweaking for this piece.

Tomorrow, I think it will be the maple tree’s turn.

Nasturtium border study. I really struggled with stylizing the...

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:34:08 -0400

Nasturtium border study. I really struggled with stylizing the nearly round leaves, so I decided to just make them disks with a circular center. They work for now, but I will continue to toy with something that could work in semi-arts and crafts/ mod style.

Photo

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:12:11 -0400

I am not sure why it has taken me this long to get on the...

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:56:45 -0400

I am not sure why it has taken me this long to get on the pattern bandwagon, but it is not necessarily the length of time it takes, but rather if you even get there. The process was far more satisfying than I thought it would be. It was also realitivily effortless (I hestiate to say this because effort can be rather subjective, but for me I am comparing the time it takes for me to paint a watercolor versus sitting down at Illustrator and dropping colors and painted textures).

Because this went so well for me, I am planning to begin integrating this exercise as part my morning warm up before I start working on other projects.

Poppies. There come in so many colors, but it is so easy just to settle with designing red poppies. Instead of fighting that, I decided to play with the varying hues of red.

costumecommunityservice: talesfromtheend: naiadestricolor: ref...

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:28:08 -0400

costumecommunityservice:

talesfromtheend:

naiadestricolor:

reftastic:

swegener:

Speaking of different body shapes. These are all basically peak human bodies.

How come 99% of them don’t conform to what the entertainment industry tells us is the perfect body?

This is a FABULOUS set of body refs. So glad this came back across my dash so I could reblog it here :D

These images are from a book by Howard Schatz of various Olympic athletes, which was titled “Athlete.” You can buy the book [here]. Also, have some more photos from it:

Never not reblogging this.

Awesome!

We all come in different shapes and sizes and it’s totally awesome. :)

So this is obvious to anyone who knows me, that it was an...

Sat, 11 May 2013 14:20:50 -0400

So this is obvious to anyone who knows me, that it was an absolute requirement to add Ochu to the series. What is there not to love? A giant plant with a mouth full of sharp teeth? Also loving the fact I get to play all my epic cello rock when working on these. :D Nothing hotter then string musician, but I digress —- back to giant artichoke monster!

I do have to say that I am finding myself wanting to add more teeth and eyes to this piece. Wow, never thought I would say….

Postcards from Space: Generation Nothing

Fri, 10 May 2013 20:30:11 -0400

Postcards from Space: Generation Nothing:

postcardsfromspace:

Matt Bors has been laying down some truthbombs about the myth of lazy, entitled Millennials. Go read.

I was born in the 1979-1983 generation gap—a few years short of X, a few years ahead of Millennials. We’re a generation defined by disaster: Columbine, 9/11. We came of age at the peak of the…

We are not generation defined by entilement, but personal innovation and detetmination.