Vintage shopping in Wonderland

My friend, Michele, and I share a love for vintage fashion.  Guam doesn't have too much to offer as far as thrift store or vintage shopping, but it just makes it that much more special when you find something amazing.  A week ago we decided to check out Peace, Love, and Charity.  I've mentioned PL&C before.  It's a cute little family run thrift store.  All the money you spend in the store goes to the Calvo Cancer Foundation.  I know a family that has been helped by this foundation so I it makes me feel pretty good to know my money is going to help actual families on Guam.

Another thing I love about PL&C is that the store is not dusty.  It's hard to shop when you're sneezing up a storm.  Although I have found some great books and even my favorite jacket at The Salvation Army.

Look what I found at PL&C.  Isn't this dress awesome!!!  It was very reasonably priced and in such amazing condition.  No holes, and all the buttons!  And it fits like it was made for me.  I know it's more 30s than 20s,which I was hoping for, but I still adore it.  I'm thinking about removing the satin sleeves though, or at least the shoulder pads.  Michele found one too.  Hopefully we'll have a party where it will be appropriate to wear these dresses.  I'll be sure to post pics.

A new year in wonderland

The holiday season is over and I've finally found some calm to blog.  I hope everyone had an amazing New Year!   While mine wasn't crazy eventful, it was a time for thought.  I'm not very big on resolutions, but I have made a mental list of what I want to focus my spirit on for this year.  Among other things my art is high on that list.  While last year was a good year for creative energy, I really want to ensure that this year is even better.

This is one of my favorite pieces of mine.  It's not that I think it is beautiful.  When I look at this piece I remember the ease and release I felt painting it.  There was no hesitation in choosing color or strokes or technique.  It just flowed like energy.   My friend, who was there while I was painting, was concerned that it looked like falling in a downward spiral.  That makes sense since I was having an emotional meltdown.  Art is amazing like that though.  The ability to take something so complicated and hard to deal with and turn it in to something more accessible, and sometimes even beautiful, is amazing.

So, let go, let go - Jump in - Oh well, what you waiting for? - It's all right 'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown - Frou Frou "Let Go"

I'm craving another purely inspired moment.  When I did the painting of the women who saved Guahan I was inspired, but it didn't come easy.  The actual creation process was controlled by my self consciousness.  I studied and sketched and erased and outlined and calculated each stroke.  I'm proud of it, but sometimes when I look at it now I wish I had just let go.  Hopefully this will be a year of finding that ability to release the control my self has on my work, so that I can grow and find my way.

Speaking of inspiration, I've been wanting to blog about another local artist, Simeon Palomo.  Simeon is a family friend and an amazing artist.  He creates the most beautiful floral arrangements using locally grown plants and things we all might have lying around our homes and yards.  He also recently released a beautiful book filled with pictures of some of his arrangements and our beautiful island.  Scattered through out the book are quotes and stories from his friends and family, including one from me.  If you're interested in his work you can check out his website or the Facebook page for the book, Tropical Art, Guam.  If you're interested in purchasing the book, you can check those links for a list of stores selling it, or you can purchase it online through Guampedia.  You won't be disappointed.

Simeon isn't the only local artist inspiring me this new year.  I spent last Friday wrapped in the wonderful energy of Kannai, the art group I'm apart of.  Why explain the art and artists in words when I can show you in pictures?  :)

 

collaboration.  isn't it beautiful?

a round table art activity

This is my piece from that night.

Blue skies in Wonderland: a beach day with my cousins

InnerVoices by Uncle Tote

Marianas Homegrown

What a beautiful song for a beautiful day!

Penaflor cousins - Me, Rie, and Jake

The day started out really rainy, but look at that beautiful sky!

with our mer-jake

Yay for beach days!

Occupied in Wonderland: Students occupy the university

"GUAM'S BEEN OCCUPIED SINCE EVER SINCE! 

GUÅHAN'S THE PLACE A NEW DAY BEGINS!"

Celebrate in Wonderland: Biba Pagat!

BREAKING NEWS: DOD agrees to re-think Route 15 firing range; More studies, scoping planned

sketching in Wonderland

I've been a bit busy lately.  I have a few great projects going on and of course I'm also working to pay the bills, but I've been sketching a lot lately.  I just thought I'd share some stuff.

I'm working on something for a legend.

sketching at a forum

I edited this a bit.  You can see the sketch on the next page just faintly.  

Life in Wonderland: The Maidens Who Saved Guahan

*color reproductions available - $10*

 I just want to share one of my latest paintings and the story behind it.  I've copied the story from Guampedia to post here.  If you're interested in reading more of our island's legends or just want to learn more about Guahan in general, Guampedia is a great site to visit.

In the story “Maidens Who Saved Guam,” a monster parrot fish is chewing his way through the island of Guam, determined to destroy the island. Night after night the men of Guam went out in search of the huge destructive fish but could not find it.

The young women would talk about the monster whenever they gathered to wash their hair and rinse it with orange peels. Their favorite spot to gather was at the Agana Springs. When they finished, the pool would be covered with orange peels. One day a girl noticed the peels floating in Pago Bay. She was puzzled by their appearance. After some thought, she surmised that the monster must have eaten a hole all the way under the island from Pago Bay to Agana Springs and that was where it was hiding.

The next day when the girls gathered at the Agana Springs they wove a net with their long black hair and then sat around the pool and began to sing. The monster fish, enchanted by the music, swam up from the bottom of the spring to listen to the singing girls. Suddenly the girls spread their net over the spring and dived into the pool. The monster fish was caught and the island of Guam was saved.

Sketchy in Wonderland: More pages from my sketchbook

I've been working on my illustration skills.  I've  found out that I don't really have any. lol

my Sirena

I did this last year.  

I was bored and bit off more than I could chew.  I shouldn't have added the color.

Community in Wonderland: Hatsa i kanai-mu giya fiestan uchan

Hatsa i kannai-mu!

Wow! I had an interesting day.  Today was the opening day for the annual Micronesian Islands Fair.  Biba Micronesia!  Our art group has been meeting frequently to prepare for this event.  We came up with an activity to do with the many school children who attend the first day of the fair with their classes.

Kannai (hand) is what we've been calling ourselves.  We decided on this because hands can symbolize so much.  We use our hands to create, share, receive. I could go on and on.   Hatsa i kannai-mu means raise your hand.  For the fair, we decided to do a community art project with the kids.  We took a large sheet and painted a great big hand on it.  We spread that sheet out over a few tables and set up a paint and hand washing station. We talked to the kids about the many things you can do with your hands to help be active in the community and  let them choose a color and sent them to the sheet to leave their hand print.  All those little hands helped to create a mural of hand prints which in a way is Kannai's hand print.

eeee  kalakas!

We managed to cover the entire sheet and were planning to break out another sheet we had prepared, but it started raining. We decided it was a good time for a break and went to get some bbq sticks and check out some of the other booths.  It started getting extremely muddy and when we got back to the booth we were sharing with some other artists, our feet were mostly submerged.  We were all laughing and taking pictures of our sunken feet while it just kept pouring down uchan (rain) .

Before we know it, we were dancing the cha cha knee deep in flood water.  I'm serious, there was both knee deep flood water and cha cha going around.  I was wearing jeans and kept having to roll them up.  It got to the point where if I rolled it up any higher I'd cut off circulation to the lower half of my legs.  We couldn't just run for higher ground either.  We had way too much set up.  Plus, we were entertaining each other too much to be really freaked out.  It was an adventure!

Where did Dakota's knees go?!

scaled down sakman on the pond that was our beach park, earlier in the day

(L-R) car, Joey, picnic table
Joey is the only one that will be mobile today

The picnic area is nearly submerged up to the seat and if you look closely  you can see a happy carabao  keeping her owner dry and mobile.


Check out our friend, Rebecca Rae's site!  She has some beautiful art and amazing jewelry.
IslaRae.com

Painting in Wonderland: CAHA, face painting, and haggan

Haggan  (turtle)
Acrylic on mat board

Today I finally turned in the form to register with CAHA's artist directory.  I've been planning on doing that for over a year, but I procrastinate.  I think the hardest part was figuring out how to describe my art.  I wish I could've just shown them pictures and had them write something up, but oh well.  I think going to CAHA and seeing the artwork there and at the Chamorro Affairs office got me in the painting mood.

On Saturday, I went to the Down Syndrome Association of  Guam's 10th anniversary gathering. Allan's baby sister has down syndrome and his mom is the current president of the association.  She had asked me if some of my friends and I would like to face paint for the event.  Joey and Colleen came and did some really awesome little works of art on the sweetest faces.  It was a great event for a great cause.

I painted a few faces with little turtles and that inspired me to create this.  Considering I didn't have a reference picture, this didn't turn out too bad.  It obviously could be better, but I still like her.  :)

Painting in Wonderland: New Pieces :)

"Tasi's Palette"
Acrylic on mat board.
Painted at Asga' - 2nd Third Friday gathering .

"Peace of Paper"
Acrylic on canvas panel
*for sale*

"Look At Me Now"
16"x20" acrylic on canvas
*for sale*

Viewed in Wonderland: Let them return!

"Take my land,

It's called stealing!"

Rainy in Wonderland: off and painting

Rainy days are great for staying in and painting.  Thankfully, I was off today and able to do just that.  I even got to take a nap.

This piece was fun to work on.  I was thinking about that day that Nella and I went on our tree planting adventure.  I started with a paint brush, but decided to do more of a palette knife application when I was working on the hills.  I actually don't have palette knives.  Those things are expensive!  So instead I used the little plastic shovel looking spoons you get when you have gelato.  This was practice for a piece I have lodged in my brain.  I just need to see it more clearly before I try to get it out for every one else to see.