Work 27: Solstice Advent Calendar

I remember quite fondly all the spirit that came along with this season. It placed an excitement in my stomach that would last a whole month. I can still muster some, but its different. It came in all the details, never one big thing. The music, the food, the snow, the decorations, the gifts... And while the entire month was fun, it was always about anticipation. Leading up to the big day. What better way to harvest anticipation than giving someone a calendar. My grandparents used to send me advent calendars. Some years they were the kind with candy, other years, just pictures. But it was always fun each day to see what was behind the new door.

I am older now, and I see the season differently. Certain things that I went along with as a child, I do not go along with now. Yet it is still a special time. I do not want to lose that. So instead I change it to something that I can feel good about. It is a slow process to hijack a holiday, but every year I try to do a little more.

The day after Thanksgiving, an idea popped into mind, and the next morning I set to work at it. Three days later I completed my Solstice Advent Calendar. It was a lot of work, but I am quite happy with it. A significant part of having an advent calendar is the surprise, so it wouldn't be well utilized by me. I presented it to my roommate for her seasonal enjoyment.

Work 24: Sad Tie

This is a tablet doodle that was doodled while I was trying to draw something else. It is nothing like what ever I was intending to draw and is very much its own thing. I named the file "Sad Tie" and saved it. I open it on occasion to see what it is. Then I think about posting it, but don't. Well, here it is, Sad Tie.

Work 21: Dolphin Hunting

(I finished this piece a few months back, but its just now going up)

The killing of dolphins is both a source of pride and contention for Japan. Pride because it makes use of the sea and and is considered to be a traditional activity. Contention because most of the world denounces the practice of killing sea mammals. With the increasing influence of the western world upon Japan, the island nation struggles to hold on to its traditions, regardless of legitimacy. This image is simple. It swaps the role of hunter and hunted. If one is to accept the food chain (and most omnivores do), than one must accept the role of prey just as predator. There is no malice in the dolphins attack. It kills just as it is killed.

In communicating this message I tapped into another Japanese tradition, that of woodcutting. The majority of my work is digital, so instead of making a relief image in wood, I used my tablet and erased relief into a solid black layer in Photoshop.

Work 17: Drinking of You

I made a cup of coffee as soon as I arrived at the office this morning. I looked at it, smelled it, tasted it, and held it. Thought of coffees and coffee companions passed.

Work 14: Sameness

A new school year has just started and I am watching a fresh batch of kids getting accustomed to their new routine. They look buried in their oversized mandatory school outfit. I wrote this piece while sitting in the office watching a little one squirm and shuffle waiting for a teacher's help.

Work 13: Call to Worship

While looking through my digital photos for a separate project, the preview feature flashed a bunch of my orange images in rapid succession. I then paused my current project to make a video with my orange series instead. I took the whole file of 36 images, loaded them into my video editor, and let them repeat a number of times. The order seen is the order the photos were taken in. Every other cycle is shown in reverse. Some places are sped up and other slowed down. The only manipulation to the images, was in adjusting the contrast of the video as a whole. I edited the clip until it seemed right, then I dropped some music on top. Music borrowed from Architecture in Helsinki. Titles are hand drawn.