Weekend 5/27/16

May 27, 2016 in Weekend

Art

I'm really excited to see this show. It's been awhile since I've been to an art show with such a strong political statement and this one looks right up my alley. It satirizes capitalism and consumerism in ink. The show opens tonight at Seeing Things Gallery.

Eating

When I'm not making art I love playing chef. This salad consists of arugula with lots of lemon, cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans, canned salmon (with 1/2 an avocado as mayo, champagne vinegar, dill, salt and pepper) and topped with sunflower seeds, fresh parsley, Parmesan and a soft boiled egg. It was insanely good. And of course, olives and cheese.

Growing

Look at this crazy plant. I have had this one for awhile now, but it wasn't until I put it in the ground that it started growing so huge and bloomed this yellow "flower". My garden is blooming all over the place these last couple months.

Listening

This week I listened to the #Girlboss podcast with Miki Agrawal. Damn. This woman is inspiring. If you aren't familiar with #Girlboss, it was a book and is now a movement created by Sophia Amoruso. I think Sophia is a pretty amazing person. Her story starts with being a rebellious young woman (ahem, sounds familiar) who sells vintage clothes on Ebay and moves on to start a fashion empire with Nasty Gal clothing (this is sort of the edited version). You should read the book. Miki Agrawal's interview displays a woman who is unstoppable. Her ideas and passions drive her and she just makes things happen. Also, her desire for social change for women gave me goosebumps. There is some banter in the beginning that you could skip if you just want to go straight to the interview. I guarantee you'll love it. Makes me want to do more with my life.

It isn't for everyone, but I love the Poundcast podcast. It's super funny, like feeling like a teenager again funny. Recent episodes were recorded in a car while on the road and around the campfire. It was really cool to hear them have a conversation with the sound of bugs in the background. The one with Rock and Roll Gary is hilarious. He tells his old band stories around the campfire.

Seeing

I caught this glimpse of my cat on the fence behind the bamboo screen:)

Sketching

This week's SoFA Sketch was so much fun! We were really feeding off each other and plan to meet down in Monterey this summer to sketch. It feels good to help build the local art community. After being on hiatus for 3 months, I am so glad to have SoFA Sketch back.

Sketching always consists of a combo of me trying to push myself and then drawing my usual old things. Adding the yellow lines behind the plant as well as the dramatic line of the blue tabletop felt a little more exciting, but I do want to push my sketches more and not be so safe.

Watching

Created for Amadeus Magazine, this short documentary profiles Jen Stark, an LA-based visual artist known for her complex paper sculptures and color drip aesthetic. In the video, Jen highlights some of her recent work, including her collaboration with Miley Cyrus for the MTV Video Music Awards. direction, shooting & editing \\ Matthew Kaundart producing \\ Alex Khatchadourian & Nicki Wong music \\ "Kill Switch" by White Rainbow amadeusmag.com

This is a really great video on Jen Stark. Her playful and cool personality really shows through. I love the toys she shows in her studio. It really proves that your art inspirations start early and stay with you. Last year I assisted Jen with her mural at Facebook, so I like to keep up with her work.

Happy Memorial Day weekend all! I know I'll be working through the long weekend preparing for the SubZero Festival next weekend.

What Goes On 12/18/15

December 18, 2015 in Weekend

Partying

We celebrated a close family friend's 90th birthday last weekend. Her daughters threw the party at a North Beach art gallery, North Beach Bauhaus. It made me stop and think about what an amazing person she is and all the people she has made an impact on with her incredible spirit, intelligence and wit. If only we could all live as full and rich lives.

Listening

Receiving

Elissa gave me one of her sketches from SoFA Sketch. How cool is this?? A little landscape in a globe. I love it so much.

I got some cool stuff in the mail this week! On Monday, Etsy sent me this awesome pin just because and my friend Jeremiah Harada sent me this sweet drawn postcard.

Loot from Michael Hsiung - my new favorite shirt!

I also got this Parabo Press risograph print. The Jealous Curator had posted that her first 100 readers to sign up would get a free print of one of their photographs. I chose this scene of a Moroccan rooftop from my trip last year. Pretty cool, huh? You can have your photos transformed and printed a variety of ways through the app.

Shipping

I've been shipping lots of 100 Day Project calendars this week. Someone even ordered 6! Thanks for all your support!

SoFA Sketching

Anabella making an awesome flyer for her sister's annual New Year's party in Albuquerque, NM

MIguel Machuca sketching with a battery-operated eraser

My 100 Day/SoFA Sketch. I finished it at home later that night.

This week we ran our final SoFA Sketch for the year. It started in July and we kept it going the 4th Wednesday of every month. For December, we met a week earlier since the 23rd seemed a little too close to Christmas. These last few months have been some of my favorite. SO many good artists and everyone is so great to be around.

What Goes On 11/6/2015

November 06, 2015 in 100 Day Project

This week's What Goes On is actually from the last two weeks. It's been a little crazy around here, but now I am back on schedule.

Arting

Nancy Ahn, Suhita and Claudine so focused on their sketches.

This month's SoFA Sketch was a small but great gathering at SoFA Market. I feel like in the last couple months, it has found its groove. I was a late on promoting it, didn't get around to it until the day of, but that made for an awesome table of artists working intimately.

Nancy Ahn drew Konjoe Tei Ramen & Izakaya

Some of the artists will draw from life and others from their imaginations. I love the mix. It always makes it fun. I am finding the

Suhita Shirodkar's pumpkins. Her sketches are always so loose, yet representative.

Bryan's awesome cats on a dimly lit street.

Another sketch of Suhita's. I love the contrast of the bottles and the dark figures.

The next SoFA Sketch is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday November 25th. Follow me on Instagram @francesmarin to stay in the loop on things.

Designing

No sneak peaks yet, but I have been doing some behind the scenes designing lately and can't wait to share them with you this month. Hint: bags and a calendar.

Eating

I made this Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup this week. It's super good and hearty. You can also toast the seeds afterwards. It turned out killer!

Listening

I listened to the Halloween edition of This American Life, titled And the Call Was Coming From the Basement. I'll just say the segment on the raccoon freaked me out!

Watching

I FINALLY saw How to Draw a Bunny. After years of being recommended this movie by friends and waiting for it to appear for free on YouTube, it surfaced so I could watch it. Lesser known, Ray Johnson was an artist who was friends with a lot of famous friends: Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, James Rosenquist, Christo... He was so prolific and his work was ahead of its time. He hated galleries and museums. He was a also a mystery to many people. Watch it.

I've been pretty into the show The Americans. It takes place during the Cold War and focuses on two KGB spies disguised as a suburban American couple. I think a big part of why I like it is that it takes place in the 80's. I also love that it is pre-cell phone, so they have to figure things out via landlines . It's nice to see them handle things in a fairly low tech way. The acting is pretty good and it is nice and suspenseful.

What Goes On 8/28/15

August 28, 2015 in 100 Day Project

Admiring

Hyperallergic posted this article on Richard Diebenkorn's sketchbooks. I loved his work when I was in art school and plan on checking out his print show at the De Young Museum soon. I love the simple and raw look of his work.

Buying

I bought the book Amphibian Love a few months ago through Leah Jay's Indiegogo campaign and it just arrived in the mail. What a great book! She did a beautiful job on the artwork and the writing on each amphibian is informative and concise. A percentage of sales go to the Save the Frogs campaign and it was printed in an environmentally friendly way on recycled paper.

Arting

I went to the 100 Day Project meet up in SF on Thursday. What a blast meeting all these great people! It was pretty moving to see all these people who have worked so diligently together. Many of us have followed each other online so it was great to meet in person. It was also great to have Elle Luna there interacting with everyone. I want to do it all over again!

The event took place at DIY, the headquarters for an online global creative community for kids. Kids can learn new skills and even get real patches for their efforts (just like girl and boy scouts). They were great hosts for the event and they even shared kids' 100 Day Project (including the pom-poms above). I was very impressed!

Collecting

What a sweetie! My friend Elissa brought me some treasures back from South Dakota including sage, quartz and slate. It was so thoughtful for her to think of me. I will definitely put these in a special place.

Listening

I love the podcast Death, Sex & Money. A recent one I checked out was the episode "In New Orleans: From Raising Hell to Raising Kids." With the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Anna Sale is interviewing a handful of people that experienced it and where they are now. The individuality of these stories is captivating and I suggest you check them out.

Sketching

SoFA Sketch happened again this week. This time it was a much bigger turn out! It was great to meet new artists and see everyone working. From top left: A new group of artists working, Laura Johnston's portrait of a woman, Sean Patrick Kenney's pencil portrait, my 100 Day sketch of KNTV news reporters Dennis Richmond and Elaine Corral, an unknown artist's portrait sketches and Elissa Nesheim's beautiful landscapes and owl (with my sailboat above). I can't wait for the next one!

Training

I'm continuing my training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I am somehow feeling a little more comfortable with it, even if it's still really challenging. I have been going about 4-5 days a week and my brain and body feel so much better for it. I will be heading to a competition in Santa Cruz on Saturday to watch teammates compete. Maybe someday I will, but definitely not now.

Watching

I watched the Tig Notaro documentary, Tig, and was pretty blown away by all the things she has been through. I knew a bit of this comedian's story, but hearing it all in her own words was quite heavy. The second part of the documentary almost felt too personal, like reality TV, but I think a lot of her life has been an open book so she just kept going I guess. Definitely worth a watch.