ulrika kestere's the girl with 7 horses.

I've been doing a lot of research for a possible piece on environmental art for WGSN -- artists like Andy Goldsworthy who make work using organic materials found in nature (and specific to the work's site) or artists like Ned Kahn who create work that poses questions to the audience, aiding in starting a dialogue about environmental issues.


Andy Goldsworthy's Rowan Leaves & Hole


Ned Kahn's Fog/Rainbow Arbor at the Skirball

I met James Peterson at an art show last weekend who built an interactive installation called Hypoxia that explores the phenomenon of out of control algae growth, which in turn sucks all the oxygen from bodies of water and suffocates the eco system in which it exists.


James Peterson's Hypoxia

Anyways. Wanted to share Ulrika Kestere's work, entitled The Girl with 7 Horses with you. It's haunting, beautiful and kind of inspiring me for my very slow going 365 project. (Click the above link for the other six horses.)

/ hiatus.

Big, big apologies for the two and a half week hiatus. I was without internet at home for a few weeks and it impaired my life in ways I couldn't have imagined. I'm a bit rootless at the moment, feeling trapped in constant turbulence, as I spend my week nights at my grandpa's house in the LA area and my weekends on the road (or, in last weekend's case, on a boat at sea). It's going to be a little cray-cray 'round here for the next couple of months as this rootlessness trend continues. I'm still learning to balance my full-time job at WGSN with my social life, personal creative life and health so that no area is too full or too light. I've also been lazy about photo editing because I miss my giant external LCD monitor and wireless mouse like hell. [So if I owe you photos -- and you know who you are -- I am sorry! I am working on them slowly and intermittently.]

It is growing more and more apparent that I will be unable to get away from Los Angeles. My editor position is likely to become permanent in due time and the only job offers/responses I am receiving are from LA companies (despite applying in the Midwest and East Coast). I am struggling to readjust my head and heart to this fact.

As for my job, I love it. It's nearly a dream job. A normal day for me jumps from researching outsider art (made by people not formally trained or connected to the art world, who are often mentally ill) to gazing at these dreamy algae blooms in Colombia to mocking baby tuxedos with tails (!!!) with my fellow editors to mining the Roaring Twenties for trends. It's never dull. Though, after researching several outerwear companies, I've considered applying to Patagonia for a job. Those hippies have amazing environmental stewardship programs like clothing recycling and give their employees "flex-time" so that they can take off work to surf, hike, climb, camp, etc. The 9-6 life is hard for me to adjust to and sometimes I go for mile long walks around Downtown LA during my lunch hour to stretch my cramped limbs.

I'll try to get some fun stuff up here soon. I've been tossing ideas around like another "__ days of style" photo project or maybe creating an aggregator for all the randomly awesome stuff I stumble across throughout the course of my work day.

reset.

little Nala

Just got home from a long weekend in San Diego caring for one of my dearest friends, Erica as her mother-in-law passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. There are few people in the world that I would drop everything for but she is one of them. Sometimes I get lost in my own self-absorbed world, too busy working or strategizing my next move/goal. It was a nice change to step outside of myself and into the role of caretaker. The funeral shifted my focus back to where it needs to be. It was like a giant RESET button. Sometimes we get too lost in (what my friend Akeem calls) "rich white girl problems" and forget that there are real problems and real pain in the world. I listen to too many people moaning about metaphysical unhappiness and ennui and it makes me fucken crazy. To me, life is all about the love you give and create and the love you receive. Everything else is noise.

a day with Mark.

My friend Mark Velasquez, professional "button pusher", incidental cupid and all around no-bullshit good guy, and I went out shooting this afternoon. The catch here is that I was the (very awkward) model. "Can you stop making your weird faces?" he asked me, about every five minutes. I pranced around in vintage dresses and ridiculous accessories while performing feats of strength like snapping twigs in half and climbing trees in heels while grunting excessively.

Mark is the perfect example of the unfortunate phenomena Kristin and I have been discussing recently: when an audience cannot differentiate between who the artist is and what the work is. It is natural to assume that the work is a direct, unaltered representation of who the artist is and what he/she thinks/feels/has experienced. If your work is about sensuality, physicality between two people or the human form, you are immediately tagged as promiscuous or a pervert. It couldn't be farther from the truth. Mark is a wonderful, warm, respectful and down to earth human being with a sharp sense of humor and a well developed aesthetic. I am glad to call him a friend and am honored that he would ask to shoot me.



















I normally hate photos of myself but Mark has a way of capturing a person's energy, humor and character in frame. I feel like the best version of myself in front of his lens.

helvete: the final portfolio.

Here she is, in all her glory:



(click image to access design portfolio)

I was one of 25 in my graduating class to be selected to showcase my design portfolio on a FIDM graduate site. I've spent the past two and a half days cleaning up, resizing and organizing my portfolio and building out two websites (the FIDM site and my own professional site). I haven't felt ready to wrap up 2011 and look forward to 2012 yet, but with this portfolio finally laid to rest, I think I can get on with that. Also, I think web design ranks right up there with getting your lady bits waxed or getting sucker punched in the face. It's mid-level awful.

I'd love to hear your feedback -- positive or negative. I spent about four solid months on research, concept, sketches and designs and this is about as close as I am going to get in the near future to giving birth. This is the culmination of everything I learned during my fifteen months at FIDM. I am immensely proud of it.

maui, underwater.

As promised, here are photos of my trip to Maui, as seen under water. They range from a number of days and dives we made. All photos were shot by my beloved father, Ray Tsuyuki. (He doesn't have a photo site yet, but I am working on building him one.)

[Full disclosure: there are a lot of fish and sea creatures that I cannot accurately identify.]

I feel incredibly lucky that not only am I able to dive but I have an underwater photographer father who can document our dives together so I can share the experience with others. I love diving. Being under water is like entering another world. You're surrounded by dampened silence, alien creatures that defy description and a universe you don't understand. There are terrifying elements to it that I still wrestle with as a beginning diver, but the ineffable sensation of flying in the water quickly negates all my fears.


My sister and me.


Tiny crab on coral.


Frogfish












Moray eel


Sea urchin


Sis and me, again. I'm the short haired, super Asian looking one on the right.


Turtles!


Little puffer

I'm diving in a couple of weeks off Anacapa. We're hoping for some hot sea lion action and I can't wait to show you the beautiful kelp beds of Southern California and the prolific eco system that calls them home.

365 project.

Happy new year, my friends. I haven't quite figured out what it is that I want out of this new year or out of myself, but so far, I have set one goal. I am doing a 365 photo project.

You can follow my progress here: 365 project

I bought a DSLR in 2009 but did not begin to love it and photography until this past year. Photography is just another vehicle for story telling, for documenting my life and growth as a person and an artist, and for indulging my nostalgic tendencies. Being behind a lens has changed the way I view and interact with the world. It inspires me to travel and be outdoors, it forces me to slow down and notice beauty in unexpected ways, it reminds me of and grounds me in all the people, things and places I love so much.

I hope this project will encourage me to take more risks, will train my eye, and get me to finally read my camera's owner's manual. I hope it will help me shake off the things that limit me, like being too shy to shoot in front of or alongside a more talented photographer or being too lazy to lug my giant camera around with me.

I'll try to do a recap here once a month of the images. I am determined to complete this, even if it takes more than 365 days.

animal party.

My parents house is currently home to four adult humans, two german shepherds and four felines. It's a pretty packed house.




My sister and the puppies on a walk along Highway 1.


Kaz-monster, constantly seeking affection.


Nami.


Little Mako.


Mich & Mako.


Michi.


F2 (Frosty 2.0)

Our fourth cat declined to be photographed as I tested out my new flash.

hiking oso flaco.

Three of my childhood friends and I spent the afternoon hiking Oso Flaco in Guadalupe, California. It brings me back to how impossibly beautiful the Central Coast is.

People seem to find it incredible that I am still so close with so many of the kids I grew up with. Maybe it's the small town atmosphere that bonds us across states and continents after all these decades, maybe there's something in the water, or maybe we were all just lucky enough to grow up to be interesting, intelligent, fun, creative, amazing people. Whatever the case, our little cow town by the sea created brilliant researchers, talented musicians, bright artists and generally good people with good hearts whom I am blessed to call some of my dearest friends.




We made a seesaw!






Phoebe lives in San Francisco, travels the world on a regular basis doing ethnographic research, and will kick your ass at playing the drums or (drunk) Scrabble.


Cameron makes wine and sweet, sweet music with his rich, buttery vocals and the kind of deeply observant lyrics that sock you in the gut. He is also highly skilled at making bad, lascivious puns. i.e. He once rapped: I'm like a bully. I find the pussy and then I beat it up.


(photo: P. Kuo)


"I like a girl with a nice back catalogue... of Simpsons references." That day, Warren coined a new euphemism for ass. What can I say about Warren that I haven't already said? I love the guy, and the fact that he can rap with anyone on world politics and gangster rap.




Beautiful Central Coast dunes.




The intrepid explorers money shot.


We found what I believe to be a sea lion bone yard on the way back, an entire disassembled skeleton. I took a vertebra home with me.

I've been shooting a lot the past few weeks and testing out my new shoe mount flash + diffuser so this joint is going to be a photo blog for the foreseeable future.