1.12.26

Studio Vibes

Watching: Heated Rivalry, Top Chef Binge (Seasons 14 - 16)

Reading: Our Hideous Progeny: A Novel by C. E. McGill

Listening: a touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun by Aly & AJ

Every day feels more and more tumultuous in this country. I constantly feel on edge and fearful for the people I love. I’m consistently reminding myself of my privilege, but at the same time, reminding myself that I am also at risk. But seeing people come together is a good reminder that community means everything. Connection means everything. Connection is my theme for the year, and to me, that means connecting with loved ones, my community, and myself.

In Progress

I bought more printer ink and finished this dang painting! Also, why does printer ink have to cost so much? I dropped $90 on ink..

I think the name of this piece may be Deadheading.

I also took some time to work on the doppleganger painting. I added the underpainting and continued to work on the figures. I nixed the vellum because the color pencils weren’t where I wanted them to be (vellum is terrible with wet mediums). I’m just going straight Yupo for these.

For the rose bush painting, I think creating a grid of images on top is the direction I want to take. There was an Ellsworth Kelly exhibition at the Blanton in 2022 that I still think about. It was covering his postcard series, and there were some great layering moments that I’m inspired by. 

For my mirror, I took reference photos for my portrait, and I may have landed on something. At this point, I just need to paint something, and ask myself, “Is this the direction I want to go in?

Top photo: Sketch for the rose painting
Bottom photo: Underpainting for another painting

One of my absolute favorite things about living in DC is the plethora of free events (and the fact that most of the museums are free). The National Gallery of Art (NGA) held an artist talk with photographer Ming Smith. It was my first artist talk in months, but also my first arts-related thing of the year. The way Ming Smith frames and composes her photographs is absolutely brilliant. Also, she captures motion so well - there’s such a lovely fluidity to it. It’s making me think about how I can capture that motion in my paintings, which is something I explored in undergrad, but may need to make a comeback.

Top photo: Artist talk with photographer Ming Smith
Bottom photo: Ming Smith, Sun Ra Space II, New York, New York, 1978, gelatin silver print, Charina Endowment Fund, 2017.42.1

My time these past two weeks was definitely more focused on making my dress, which leads to a question I have for myself: Just because I’m not working on paintings, does that mean I’m not contributing to my practice? Who knows where my practice is going to go, so the more tools I have in my kit, the more I can do.

Creative Endeavors

Speaking of my dress, I put my blood (cut my hand while cutting the rigilene boning), sweat (sewing after workouts), and tears (invisible zippers are hard) into this dress, but the effort paid off! I finished this dress the day before my cousin’s work party. These are the new things I learned:

  • Working with Brocade

  • Working with silk habotai

  • Working with boning

  • Working with an invisible zipper

  • Blind stitching for hems

(We’re gonna ignore my PMDD causing my body dysmorphia to flare up when I took these photos).

Surprisingly, this dress took a short amount of time. While waiting for my zipper and interfacing to come in, I ended up buying more interfacing and immediately worked on the lining portion of the dress. That took about two days; sewing the shell took a few hours. The hardest part of the dress was figuring out how to work with an invisible zipper. This was my first time working with zippers, and I did attempt the invisible zipper on the mockup, but that was one layer, not sandwiched between two.

My excitement throughout making this dress was palpable - every time I finished another step, I got so excited. It’s so satisfying to put in the hard work for a project and then see your vision come to life.

I’m so happy to know how to work with boning now. Last year, I did a Lust cosplay (from Full Metal Alchemist), but I was not happy with the dress at all. It desperately needed structure, I used the wrong material, and even my hair fell flat (not literally, considering how much I have). Now, I know how to work with boning, so I’m going to attempt that cosplay again!

Next on the sewing list are:

  • A simple wrap skirt (should take like a day)

  • Sailor Cosmos (cosplay for Blerdcon in March)

  • Violet/Kasumi Yoshizawa from Persona 5 Royal (potential Blerdcon cosplay)

I do think I’ll take a short break before going into cosplay season, but not too long!

Other Shenanigans

I’m already getting a head start on my 2026 theme of connection. I’ll be going down to Charleston this upcoming weekend to meet up with friends and family. The last time I was in Charleston was back in 2024 for the Colon Cancer Walk, so I’m excited to get to see more of Charleston on a slightly more upbeat note (and definitely a foodie note). 

Also, in an age where I want physical things, I want to write more letters. I know I’m tired of bills and junk mail; there’s nothing more exciting than a handwritten letter. My therapist also recommended I start a pen pal situation with my niece (or family members in general), and I love that idea. I would love to connect with her and a bunch of my younger cousins on a written level (and of course, connect with my friends).

Finally, my job has a partial RTO (return to office), so I’ll be going into the office twice a week, starting this week. It’s going to be interesting to find balance with my hobbies, basic needs, and desire to rot on my couch. When I first started at the museum, I was pretty good about going in. That slowly started shifting to primarily remote work (because no one came in), and then in August 2025, I became extremely hesitant about going into DC due to the National Guard. I’ll get the balance down, though! Plus, when cherry blossom season hits, it’s going to be the best because I can take a break and walk around to see everything in bloom. 

A new update in two weeks!