8.16.26

Studio Vibes

Watching: Annual Gossip Girl Rewatch; Avatar Aang; GameChanger

Reading: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia; What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher; Between Two Fires by Christopher Buchlman; Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel; My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Listening:  This and That by Stray Kids; WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA by Slayyyter; OMFGG (Gossip Girl Season 1 Soundtrack)

What a month! What a summer! My last blog post was about a month and a half ago (definitely not the two weeks I promised myself). It’s been non-stop since the beginning of July, and this weekend was the first weekend where I wasn’t traveling or prepping for something. However, during this time, I’ve worked on my personal curricula, dived deeper into ice skating, traveled around the East Coast, and saw Angelica (the love of my art life) and met my future nephew (he’s quite comfy where he’s at right now).

In Progress

Of all my personal curricula, I’ve been struggling the most with my studio art personal curriculum. I love the structure I set up, but at this rate, I think I need concrete deadlines (and a way to hold me accountable). However, I have been playing around with techniques and ways of creating. The first week of my curriculum was focused on collage, and I had a lot of fun creating collages that didn’t need to be part of a larger series. The second week was working on overlays, but I kinda skipped that week. I worked on CMYK paintings these past few days, but the schedule is all over the place. I love the idea of this particular curriculum, but I think I need to reset and try again in a few weeks.

Experiments and inspiration from these past few weeks.

My African art history curriculum has definitely been more successful (although I am slightly behind on the essays). I’ve learned so much about African art history, and it’s been so much fun. African art history is incredibly underappreciated and ignored. In learning about African art history, I’ve learned more about African history than I ever did in school. I’ve learned about the various kingdoms and tribes that have inhabited Africa over centuries. Did you know that one of the earliest rock paintings was found in Blombos Cave in South Africa? I sure didn’t, because my art history knowledge has always been in the Western/Euro canon. I loved going to the Met and seeing all the works from the Kingdom of Benin, the rest of West Africa, South Africa, Central Africa, and more. I love that one little game on art history has turned into this incredible learning journey for me.

Left/top: Horn Player, Ìgùn Ẹ́rọ̀nwwọ̀n (brass-casting guild) artists, 1550-1680
Right/bottom: Between Earth and Heaven, El Anatsui, 2006

Speaking of the Met, as a little birthday gift to myself, I went up to New York City from the 5th to the 8th. The amount of art I encountered was phenomenal. I went to three art museums: 

  • Studio Museum in Harlem

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  • The Whitney

I think the Studio Museum in Harlem was my absolute favorite museum. First, it was a fountain of inspiration for me. Second, I love how they highlight artists from the African diaspora. They had a small exhibit about the history of the museum, and seeing so many artists I recognize, especially from my time in Houston, was super exciting. Next time I go up to New York City (October, more than likely), I will be swinging back by the Studio Museum. 

Picture 1: Untitled (ven sin nombre), Andina Marie Osorio, 2026
Picture 2: Cosmic Shift, Taj Poscé, 2026
Picture 3: Reclining Figure, Antonio Darden, 2025
Picture 4: Blue Wave and Yellow Turtleneck, Lorna Simpson, 2011

The 2026 Whitney Biennial also scratched an itch I didn’t realize I was missing - contemporary art. There were so many works that I absolutely loved, and I really do miss that sense of community I had in undergrad and grad school. I miss gallery hopping and even going to my own openings. Finally, the last exhibition I loved was actually in DC. At the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), Nick Cave currently has an exhibition on view. Nick Cave is known for his soundsuits, but Mammoth takes the soundsuits and elevates them. Appropriate to its name, this installation is mammoth in size and grandeur. There’s beadwork, found objects, projections, embroidery - it’s so wonderfully overwhelming. I want to go back and sit and soak it all in for inspiration.

While my personal curriculum may not be working out as I expected, I’m getting the energy and education I need in different ways.

Picture 1: Erin Jane Nelson, 2025
Picture 2: Continuous Fractures Generating New Yields, CFGNY, 2025
Picture 3: Mammoth, Nick Cave, 2026
Picture 4: Mammoth, Nick Cave, 2026

Creative Endeavors

My sewing projects were basically on pause the entire month of July, but I did finish my vest right before I went to New York. I mean that literally; I was sewing buttons and buttonholes on it the night before. When I went to San Antonio for Angelica’s diaper shower, she gave me some fabric from her stash that she wasn’t using: a beautiful red velvet and a red satin. I’ve been saving patterns on Etsy, and I’m looking forward to some new fall projects.

Another little project I did for fun was a birthday photoshoot. I’ve always wanted to do a birthday photoshoot (and photoshoots in general). The initial goal was to do an outdoor photoshoot in a garden - you know how hard it is to find a garden in DC that will let you do that? Most of them have strict rules about what constitutes commercial photography. If you dress up and have a tripod, it’s commercial photography. So, then I was going to do the National Gallery of Art, but the idea of dressing up and going all the way into DC to take photos by myself was a lot. I did not want to be perceived. Ultimately, I pinned my blanket to my bedroom wall, got some hydrangeas from Safeway, used my tripod, and had a dream. The results completely exceeded my expectations.

The dream and the reality to the dream.

Other Shenanigans

My other personal curriculum was a beginner Japanese curriculum, and that’s probably been my most consistent curriculum. I have a weekly 1:1 class with my tutor, and now she’s given me homework. That has helped a ton in practicing the concepts I’ve learned. I’ve also been doing summaries of NHK broadcast clips, and I’ve learned a lot of new words that way. 

The other big hobby of mine is ice skating. My final Adult 1 class is today, and yesterday, I bought my own pair of skates. I couldn’t do the rental skates anymore because the inconsistency was driving me crazy. While the break-in period for these skates is going to be rough, I’m super excited - they’re gorgeous.

My new Jackson Artistes with the soaker and the hard guard.

Finally, my trip to NYC was not just an art-filled one; it was a food-filled one. I did not eat one bad meal while I was there. Flushing in Queens is where it’s at (I have so many people to thank for that recommendation). It was also my first time having a New York bagel, and my life has been forever changed. I literally brought a baker’s dozen back and stuck them in my freezer. They’ve been reheating beautifully.

Top/Left: Baker’s dozen from Broad Nosh Bagels
Middle: Jianbing from Fresh Mojoilla (Flushing)
Bottom/Right: Shrimp steamed rice roll from Joe’s Steam Rice Roll (Flushing)

Now that the chaos of the summer has calmed down, I should be back to my regularly scheduled programming. An update in two weeks!