There’s charm, humor and it’s all handmade by Michael and Magdalena Suarez Frimkess. South Willard Gallery, 970 N. Broadway #205, Los Angeles till January 28, 2019.
12-9-18. Fun at South Willard Gallery.
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10-18-18. It’s Almost Over.
A passing glimpse of my painting through the gallery’s doors using my iPhone XS Max.
9-29-18. Yusei Abe at Giant Robot.
Congratulations to my former illustration student! It’s his solo show at Eric Nakamura’s Giant Robot 2 gallery in Los Angeles featuring Yusei’s intricate pen and ink works with a fantasy theme. Pretty good!
Center: Yusei Abe, Right: Eric Nakamura/Giant Robot
9-25-18. Alternate meanings in a faculty show.
This is my contribution to this year’s faculty show. I call it “Cropped Fingers” and on further reflection, I could have called it “Detail of Fingers” or better yet, “Yakuza Fingertips”. For those unfamiliar with the world of Japanese gangsters, offenders to the group would be encouraged to chop off their pinky fingertips as a way to clear up a debt or offense. Truth be told, I have seen only one missing digit in my lifetime.
9-25-18. Warm Classroom Events.
I for one see a lot of cool things in my design classes but this was a pleasant surprise.
9-15-18. Long Beach Zine Fest.
What’s a zine? A zine is a self-produced booklet that contains photocopied images and text. It’s likely to be inexpensive to make and produced in limited printed editions. Good ones are real gems and are sought by collectors. It’s gaining in popularity especially in creative fields because they can serve as practical self-promotion items due to its inexpensive up-front costs to make. This year, there were new faces to the zine world and they included a few of my advanced illustration students from Pasadena City College and they had a great booth with their works. Eric Nakamura from the classic Giant Robot store and gallery in West Los Angeles was there too. Good job all around!
8-19-18. Tight Crops and Fish.
Koi farms are complicated sites. There are ponds, splashing water, pipes and shade nets overhead. As I wandered through the farm, the complexity makes sense. A typical farm will appear to be a network of many controlled environmental systems for the valuable fish to flourish. I’d say that koi farms are also good photo opportunities. This snapshot is a detail of reflections in the water.
8-25-18. Art and Coffee.
This is the site and these are early installation snapshots of an art program called Our Living Room Project. The exhibit is titled Thoughts, Words, Things, and Images. It’s thoughtfully organized by the artist Fiona Chang. Fiona and Ching Ching Cheng, Willis Stork and myself have works on display right now! There will be a reception on Friday, October 12, 2018 during Pasadena’s Art Night and the exhibit runs through October 19, 2018. The coffee is great too so drop by!
Ambrose Café, 509 E. Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA.
Reception: Friday, October 12, 2018 from 6PM to 9PM
Regular hours: Mondays to Fridays from 7AM to 5PM and Saturdays from 8AM to 3PM
8-31-18. Japan Happens in L.A.
Pictures from a special Friday afternoon adventure. Kazuo Kadonaga’s works are on display in the beautiful Nonaka-Hill Gallery through September 8. Go see!
8-24-18. Convenience Store Woman.
This is a new novel by Sayaka Murata. I took it on my recent trip to Japan but finished it in the States. It’s about what is acceptable and not. It’s unique, precise, and thoughtful. I was intrigued and satisfied and it made me think. It reinforced my love of Tokyo convenience stores in the first place. A nice book and I squeezed in my cute Shiba for emphasis!