Thursday morning was spent with my comic kids. To be honest, I was still pretty beaten down from my critique the day before. It was hard to smile and keep going to class when you weren't entirely sure you were worth wasting the time on. Thankfully, our first visit,
First Second, was a perfect remedy!
Located in the gorgeous Flatiron building, we were met by Gina Gagliano. We got an inside look of this highly artistic, content-rich company, and the thirst to produce soon surged. We were able to peek at new books before their release in September. My favorite was
Koko Be Good, by
Jen Wang. Oh, if I could have just snuck it in my tote bag! Alas, I'll have to wait till September. Still, there was hope. There are markets for what I do. We also had the rare and awesome opportunity to go to the point of the Flatiron building to see the square below, and the curved windows.
Now I broke away from my fellows in Sequential art to meet with Illustration, who was seeing Mark Smylie, director of
Archaia Press, known best for
Mouseguard. This was exactly what I wanted to do. However, there was some time left. So what do I do, naturally? Go and find kittens and books! PetSmart was on the way, so I took a few minutes to make kissy-faces at the kittens before locating a bookstore and parking myself in the children's book section. So, hand full of books, I go to the meeting.
It was wonderful that Archaia supports comics as an art form for adults, but also as a medium for children. So often people either swing one way or the other. It's important to know that comics are simply a medium- they aren't a genre. Unfortunately, we got hustled out of the restaurant (apparently the rest of the class had been there since the restaurant opened, and were taking up a lot of room. Mark ended up looking at my portfolio standing outside! However, he liked my work, so I'll send him my completed project!
We were set loose again. On my walk, I went back to Strand (seriously, it's a disease. I'm banned from books forever.)
MoCCA was on the way back, so I swung by to visit. There were prints from the original
Harlot's Progress by William Hogarth! It was also, again, very refreshing to see comics across
such a wide spectrum of styles and uses. The museum was tiny, so it was quite an information overload! But a wonderful one indeed! Of course, my books had grown so heavy by then I had to take a cab home!
That night, there was a party, where all of the people we had met would attend, along with schmoozing and otherwise milling around. It was at a fancy lounge, so I took a bit of extra time to doll up. I was sweating like a sinner in church, since that meant I would have to face Kurt and Zelda again, and I had cried so much last time I saw them, I was probably a blubbery mess in their eyes. I found a cozy corner to curl up and draw, and people watch.
I don't do very well in schmoozing situations- I don't drink, so I felt very silly and very sober. However as the night wore on I was able to relax and I mustered all of the courage I could to show Zelda and Kurt my progress I had drawn since we last met. And… They were thrilled! It wasn't perfect, but they were proud I had taken what they said to heart, and I was so relieved and so glad that they were happy. I couldn't wait to draw again!
Today was our last day of the program. We started the morning with a trip to
World Leaders Entertainment, who is in charge of
The Venture Brothers on Adult Swim(!!!). We had a doggy climb on our laps as Rachel Simon told us of the inner workings of how the show was produced. It's very funny, since her job mainly involves corralling lawyers! We were intrigued to find out how the art is done- it's almost 50% in-house, and 50% Overseas; the key frames, character design, mixing, etc, are done in-house, and then the animation is sent to the other studio.
Since it was out last day, we had to pick up the pace! The home of Peter Kuper was next. He does the Spy V. Spy comics in MAD Magazine, among other things. Unfortunately, I got distracted flipping through an issue of MAD and got a cheerful reprimand- but serves me right for being so easily absorbed! He had masks lining his wall- some of his own design, and others of African heritage. Kuper also had a huge filing cabinet filled with gorgeous, rare comic art- many originals and first editions. Just sitting there! He also did a few pieces using unused windowpanes as comic panels. I really liked that- I'd love to do something similar, but I fear it'd be too close!
We had some time before our next appointment, so we detoured to the
Illustration House for a quick peek. There were Norman Rockwell sketches, vintage Vogue covers... It was lovely! Now, does anyone have $5000 so I can buy one? The man who minded the gallery was also the cutest man in existence. He looked like an illustration all by himself! Our next and last appointment was meeting with Mark Heflin of
American Illustration. The scope of how long AI has been around, and all that they've published is incredible. It was inspiring all by itself simply to flip through the rows of AI volumes against the wall. I wish comics had some of the singular beauty that a lone illustration has.
Before we all dispersed, there was one last adventure. We had to get John Lowe a wig. Now. Being a man of no hair leaves John at a particular advantage. He tried on a fop wig, a Tom Cruise Wig, and finally settled somewhere around a Matt Damon wig. The women in the wig shop were practically rolling on the floor when he left!
Since I was all dolled up, I decided it was a good time to do the last of my shopping before I left. Now. While I might not be a fashionista, obsessed with brand names or trends, I am a huge fan of fashion design, particularly couture. So, naturally, I had to make the pilgrimage to 5th Avenue to visit
Dior.
John Galliano, who designs for Dior, is one of my favorite designers, so if anything, I wanted to have the privilege of being inside a Dior House. However, as I tried to put on my best 'high fashion' face, the doorman of
Chanel opened for me! I tried to say I was actually a girl from Kentucky and could probably not even afford a button from Chanel- but I walked in as if in a trance. The Couturiers really do look far more like walking into someone's apartment than a shop. The ladies were very attentive, though I had to figure out a gracious way to slip away! That said, I did take a sample of COCO Mademoiselle perfume. Divine! I also slipped into Dior, if only to gaze longingly at their
Oui collection. Sigh! So pretty! (They asked me, "Would you like to see the version with
all of the diamonds, or just one?" Good grief!)
Now it's off to pack; I have to figure out how I'm getting home with all of these books
somehow!
XOXOXO
~Lilly
So I kinda went to Paris.
So, that was Paris! Now to organize my artwork...
Wow, I survived my last quarter at SCAD!
I had the awesome opportunity to do some mascots for Blasphemina's Closet! She was a delight to work with, and these were so fun!
A page from my "Spectagirl" story, which I wrote for my Senior Project class... I'm afraid it won't be finished, but it was fun and different to work on.
A page from my childrens' book, Bree the Starstitcher. I decided I'm going to do this in marker instead of watercolor, but I'm still fond of this one.
Fairykei counterpart! She's cute but kind of vapid... I'll probably redraw her!
The Haute Couture Ladies of Avatar. I'm pleased with this, but it took an INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME TO DO, seriously WTF.
Robins as Birds on a Wire! I kvetched a lot before I figured out how I wanted to do this... And otherthanTim'semblembeingonthewrongside I'm really pleased with it. IDK.
Naturally I had to do one for the fandom of my heart, etc. I made very few prints of this, obviously, since, really, who will buy these. Pretty much nobody. Also the end of the scarf looks like a hand wiggling its fingers at Miharu in a dastardly manner. ROFL.
I made two Gaga chibis as stickers. IDK. If I can't use em, I'll put them away.
I made Fairy Kei bows, too.
(This was in progress. I added some pearls and such, too.)
After a summer of denying it, my Dad caved when this handsome boy came slouching up to our door. We dutifully returned him to his owners... But three weeks later, he reappeared! We knew we were supposed to keep him. He's friendly and affectionate, and a real charmer. He's also super-athletic and active, which my parents are still getting used to! I'm glad I'll be leaving him to take care of my mom while I'm gone. His name is Jack, and he's named after the character in Mom's book right now. (Jack Buchannan, Jack's namesake, has an identical cat in the book, named Charbon, for "Charcoal" in French.)
Looked at waaaay too much "Madonna and Child"-esque art. Not that I mind.
Her eyes were based on sculptural sketches by Lee Bontecou at the MoMA.
The theme of my paper for Art History was the "Memento Mori."
One of my sketches from the front row of "A Little Night Music."
A cute creepy girl. I wanted to devise a pet for her, so I asked what kind of pet she should have.
A bit of Sailor Moon doodling. The bigger drawing is a sketch for one of my AA prints of the three Serenity princesses/queens/etc brushing hair and tying odango.
You didn't think I was going home after New York, did you? Oh, no, there was one more leg! AnimeNext was at the end of my trip. Although I wasn't at the Artist Alley, and I wasn't cosplaying (the first con I've been to in a LONG while where I didn't), it was the only con I was going to make it to this summer, so I was eager to see people!
I had been cosplaying a respectable, mature college graduate, with my blacks, browns and muted colors for most of the trip. My, was it refreshing to be in bright pink again! I got to visit my darlings from SCAD, and also played Cosplay Maid helping my friend Ginny and her crew get ready for their masq skit that night. I cut bangs, sewed buttons and pinned and snapped and generally attempted to make myself useful!
Thursday morning was spent with my comic kids. To be honest, I was still pretty beaten down from my critique the day before. It was hard to smile and keep going to class when you weren't entirely sure you were worth wasting the time on. Thankfully, our first visit, First Second, was a perfect remedy!
such a wide spectrum of styles and uses. The museum was tiny, so it was quite an information overload! But a wonderful one indeed! Of course, my books had grown so heavy by then I had to take a cab home!
We had some time before our next appointment, so we detoured to the Illustration House for a quick peek. There were Norman Rockwell sketches, vintage Vogue covers... It was lovely! Now, does anyone have $5000 so I can buy one? The man who minded the gallery was also the cutest man in existence. He looked like an illustration all by himself! Our next and last appointment was meeting with Mark Heflin of American Illustration. The scope of how long AI has been around, and all that they've published is incredible. It was inspiring all by itself simply to flip through the rows of AI volumes against the wall. I wish comics had some of the singular beauty that a lone illustration has.
Tuesday began with a bit of a kerfuffle. I was already a nervous wreck because we were visiting DC Comics. Yes, THAT DC comics. As in, Batman, Superman, and pretty much my childhood heroes. No pressure! I came downstairs and could not find my group. After a panicked phonecall to John Lowe, my professor, I found out we were leaving later. Phew. More time to indulge in Madam Xanadu, then! We head to the legendary head of DC.
After being pulled from DC before I could swipe all of the figures they had in their display case, we stopped for lunch. The boys decided to have Ethiopian food. Now. I'm used to eating things in Japan that had still-wriggling tails, and all manner of odd meat and spicy Indian curries. But for whatever reason, the fact that the bread we were meant to use as utensils had the consistency of human skin sort of undid me. Amber and I scurried to a Chinese restaurant.
n a comic shop, which people expect to be inhabited by greasy, smelly comic nerds. This was classy!
We were set loose for a quick lunch. Surprisingly, one of my best meals here was a quick chicken sandwich and garlic knots from a tiny hole-in-the-wall grill. We scuttled on our way quickly. To one of the most lifechanging experiences I've ever had. It's not what you think- not a job, not a sighting or a show. It was a critique- the critique to end all critiques.
We met with Zelda Devon and Kurt Huggins- two fantasy illustrators and artists, a team. They were a young couple, and their tastes and style seemed very in-tune with mine. Zelda gave an insightful lecture about life post-SCAD. She had incredible, sharp wisdom, and I mustered up all of the courage I could to ask them to look at my portfolio. Shortly after I realized the way my portfolio was arranged was completely amateur and childish, which got pointed out, the rest of the class moved on, and I stayed. I told them both to let me have it. And they did.
Finally, a day to ourselves!I got up early in the morning to join my darling friend Lina at Alice's Teacup. Lina and I write together casually online, and she's one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. I must say she had me nailed when she chose the locale. I didn't bring any of my Lolita garments to wear, otherwise I would've dressed for the occasion! Instead I wore a purple embroidered frock, and she ended up wearing purple, too! We looked like a matching set!
We then journeyed out to the Cloisters- I had meant to come here when I visited New York the first time, but I didn't really have the time then. It was a treat to see it this time! Lina and I got ourselves a bit lost in the park surrounding the Cloisters, but it was pleasant, save the rain that decided to pour on us! Thankfully I secured Lina in one of the garden cafes and went scrambling about the museum proper.I adore the symbolism and delicacy juxtaposed with the hard lines of Medieval Art. The reverence and ritual of something even as mundane as a spoon or a cup enchants me. It was a delight to see The Unicorn Tapestries in person! I had been introduced to the tapestries as a child in the opening sequence to The Last Unicorn. It was peaceful and quiet, a charming day indeed.
And now, more M&Ms and delightful comics!
We then hauled all the way to PS1. Now. I had flinched my way though a great deal of modern art during the class. But I have to say, PS1 sort of overdid it for me. There were some incredible pieces of art there, to be sure. But a particular exhibit of a man shooting pornographic shots of his own mother simply overdid it for me. I expressed my need for art that made a grain of sense on my facebook, and was tickled to see the other girls mouthing "Me too!" at me! That said, another piece there absolutely tickled me- an almost prank-related piece that involved offering fine white art pedestals for free to art schools, in exchange for their used, damaged ones. No one had taken them up on that offer yet. I do hope someone does! There was also a film on someone composing a symphony only using ghetto-slang call-outs. It's this sassy, playful poke at the art world that I appreciate in modern art, and I've come to appreciate throughout the week.
