Sale and Preparing an Artist Portfolio

This weekend, May 23 - May 26, I am offering free shipping on select ACEOs. For more details, click this link to my
Gallery Juana Etsy shop .

Have you heard of ACEO's? ACEO stands for 'Art Cards, Editions and Originals'. They are small artworks. The only rule is that they measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches. They are small, affordable examples of an artists' work.

I started doing small art pieces at the end of 2007. ACEO's are a great way to start or add to an art collection. Their size make them perfect to display just about anywhere.

My latest small aceo is my interpretation of Eternity. I have been wanting to work on my own Enso. What is Enso? Summed up by Wikipedia: "... a Japanese word meaning "circle" and a concept strongly associated with Zen. Ensō is perhaps the most common subject of Japanese calligraphy, symbolizing enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void; it is also an expression of the moment."

Meaning of the Kanji: Autumn wind (upper left), Night (lower left) and Bright (inner circle).

Portfolio Review:

Since moving to Japan, I haven't had an exhibition. I hope to have a solo exhibition in August at a non-profit gallery in Sendai. I sent in my submission a week and a half ago. On Tuesday, I made it my goal to move forward with the exhibition. I called the gallery and left a message. I got a call back in the late afternoon and will meet with the curator for a portfolio review. Yikes! I am in dire need of updating my Artist Portfolio. So, Google to the rescue and I found some very useful links to help me up-date my Artist Portfolio. I am so excited. Lots to plan and prepare.

Artist Portfolio Guidelines

How to Create a Portfolio

Preparing Your Portfolio for College Admissions

Blind Female Shamans of Aomori

This past weekend I learned about Osorezan ("Dread Mountain") in Aomori on Northern Honshu island. Founded in 862 A.D., this sacred mountain is famous for Itako, female Shamans, who undergo rigorous training, before gaining the title and practice of Itako. In July and October, there are special festivals where the Itako communicate with the Dead. Osorezan Bodaiji Temple, located on Osorezan, is one of the three most sacred places in Japan.

Blind shamans are predominant throughout Japan's northeastern prefectures, including Tochigi and Ibaragi prefectures. The names for these shamans vary depending on the region. The Life of a Shamaness includes two very interesting short memoirs of two female Shamans.

My latest painting is Maya II

Monthly Update for May

What have I been up to? For the last couple of months I have been working solely on ACEOs. Aceo stands for art, card, editions, originals. These are small paintings which must be 2.5 x 3.5. At first, it was difficult to imagine painting on such a small support, but now I like the small size.

What's in the Works:
I also am preparing digital pics of my art for prints. I need at least 18 pics. These prints will be small, aceo size, 2.5 x 3.5.

What's New:
Since last week, I have begun painting larger portraits again. This morning I worked on two sketches. I finished one painting based on one of these sketches. I named her Maya. I really like this image, so I will do a series of her. Visit my Gallery Juana.etsy.com shop to view Maya and more of my art.

I joined the Diary 2009 Project. The coordinator is looking for "365 artists and crafters around the world. It is free participation and free publicity for you. " Visit her site for more information.

http://www.galleryjuana.etsy.com

The Dream Chronicles and Presence

I often dream through my conflicts. These dreams sometimes follow a theme or appear in sequence. I work out my questions through my dreams. Sometimes, I haven't even admited the question. This is the first entry in what I will call "The Dream Chronicles."

After finding out that my father was terminally ill with cancer in the summer of 2006, I started having ghost dreams. I've had these dreams since the end of 2006 to until recently, April 2008. These dreams have been very real and tactile.

The first Ghost dream
My husband and I had been asleep for sometime. He was on my left and my cat was between us. I heard a noise which partially brought me out of my deep sleep. My husband was getting back into bed. At this point, he kicked the top of my left foot. I felt the warmth and solidness of his foot. Now I was slowly waking up. Peeved that he had kicked me, I opened my eyes and saw that he was on his side with his feet facing away from me. He was in a deep sleep. I was pretty sure that he had never gotten out of bed and couldn't have kicked me given his posture, deep sleep and total lack of movement.



My latest series is titled "Presence." Presence I is available in my Gallery Juana etsy shop.

Going Digital

I love my Canon G9 digital camera. I still have much to improve on my phototography skills. Robert Socha's Photography blog has some good tips for taking good photos. I have bookmarked it for future study.

In the meantime, I am enjoying the learning process. Here are a few photos (low resolution for the internet) from my recent walks. I hope to have prints available in my Gallery Juana shop soon.

Sunday

I live on a busy city street. There is always an old building being demolished or a new building being built. Caddy-corner to my apartment, there is a gas station . All day I hear the gas station clerks yelling "Orai, orai!" In addition, the city is constructing the new subway just outside my Apartment building. Even with the windows closed, I hear all this noise pollution. But on Sundays, it is quiet. I usually work on Sundays, so I never get to enjoy the lazy, quiet Sunday feeling. Today, I woke up late and enjoyed the quietness of the day.

I spent the morning looking at sleeping cat photos on flickr. I love cats and my cat, Sputnik, is my constant companion. She sleeps on my lap when I am at the computer. Someday I will get that perfect photo of her. In the meantime, here are a couple of my favorites from aswiebe and sara.

Golden Week and Proverbs

I will have five glorious days off thanks to the consecutive National Holidays which make up "Golden Week." If I go anywhere, travelling will be limited to local areas. I mostly look forward to working all day on my Art!

Most people in Japan will be travelling to their hometown or somewhere for a short vacation. Roads will be jammed with traffic. Hotel prices are higher, and they are probably already fully booked. Japan Today reported that in 1.5 million people visited the new Tokyo Midtown shopping/office complex in Roppongi during Golden Week 2007. Long waits and patience are expected if you are going to travel during Golden Week. The Japan Times reported that Narita airport’s operating company expects to have 970,000 travelling between April 24 to May 7.

I love proverbs. I have this small ink painting with caligraphy in my Gallery Juana etsy shop. A group of monks are on their long pilgrimage or journey.

Proverb:
Read as follows: Ame futte ji katamaru
Literal translation: Rained on ground hardens
Meaning: Adversity builds character

Showa day and Laundry

Emperor HiroHito on his Coronation Day

Showa day is on April 29 the and marks the beginning of consecutive National holidays in Japan. This day honors the Late Emperor Showa (Hirohito) who reigned as Emperor of Japan from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989. His reign was the Shōwa period (昭和時代, Shōwa jidai: Showa means "enlightened peace" and Jidai means "period").

In Japan, the date is based on the reign of the Emperor. Japan has been in the Heisei Era since January 8th, 1989 when Emperor Akihoto succeeded to the thrown following the death of his Father, Hirohito. The intended meaning of Heisei is "peace everywhere" and is based on two historical history books.

Both the Japanese and Gregorian systems are used. Most business publications and documents use the traditional system. International documents use the Gregorian system. So my visa to stay in Japan uses the Gregorian system but my banking records and birthdate use the traditional system. 2008 is Heisei 20.

So what does this Holiday have to do with Laundry? After weeks of rain, the weather forecast says we will have sunny, warm days for this holiday. I plan to get my laundry done. I love seeing it hung out on the line. As a child, I remember riding my tricycle around the yard as my Mom hung the clothes on the line. Those days were sunny and carefree for me.

"The Big One" and Take Five

My random pic for the day is of a corner in my apartment. The last three apartments I have lived in my city have come equippped with a fire extinguisher. I am not sure why this seems to be a standard. The apartment I live in now doesn't have a smoke alarm but it has a fire extinguisher! Perhaps it is because everyone is waiting for "The Big One" to happen. Most of Honshu Island experiences earthquakes and the experts try to predict when the next big one is to occur. Everyone in my city believes the next Oki (big) earthquake will happen soon. How soon ranges from 3 to 10 years depending on who I talk to or what I read.

The last earthquake in this city was in 2005, registering 7.2. The epicenter was off-shore, triggering Tsunami warnings and still causing power outages and buildings to collapse on land.

On that day, I had just sat down to order at a restaurant when the noise and shaking began. This restaurant was on the top floor of the hotel - 15th floor- surrounded by floor to ceiling windows. Our building shook violently and swung from side to side. Looking out the windows, I could see other tall buildings doing the same. The earthquake seemed to go on and on, and I started to wonder if it was "The Big One" and whether this building would hold up. Most of us had moved away from the windows and were standing against an inner wall. I kept looking up to see if the ceiling was going to fall. I probably should have been under a table! We were all quiet except for one waitress. She kept walking back and forth in front of us with dishes in her hands, saying "Iyada, Iyada," which is literally "Terrible, Terrible." In memory, it is a very surreal moment.

....Let's Take Five ...

Stoney Charms tagged me to do this MEME (each answer and each category is five words in length) Alright, so my answers are more or less than five, but I do have five categories*)- Thanks Stoney!


Five years ago I was...

1. living in Japan
2. younger and thinner!
3. wondering if I should bring my cat to Japan from Mexico (which I eventually did)
4. studying Japanese with students from Korea, China, Mexico, Russia and Singapore
5. not blogging or selling on Etsy

Five snacks I enjoy!

1. cheese
2. my homemade corn tortilla chips and salsa
3. raw almonds
4. Japanese rice crackers
5. chocolate


If I was a billionaire I would....

1. buy a lovely house in Southern France
2. buy a lovely house in Italy
3. buy a lovely house for my my Sister and Mom
4. buy my dream car: Volvo c30
5. donate a bit to a charity


Some Jobs I have had....

1. Esl Teacher
2. Vocational Counselor
3. Yogurt shop clerk (part-time as a university student)
4. Gardener (part-time as a university student)
5. Supervisor for a non-profit organization

Different Places I have lived....

1. Central part of Honshu Island in Japan
2. Hokkaido, Japan
3. Northern part of Honshu Island in Japan
4. Northern part of Mexico
5. Central California

My next post will include the five I have tagged!

Golden Week

Golden week is a major holiday that spans the end of April through the first week of May. The official holidays fall on April 29 and May 3rd through May 6th. I will talk about each day in future posts.

I get the official holidays off, and I am looking forward to it. Golden week is a crazy time to travel in or out of Japan. Prices are higher. Public transportation is more crowded. I plan to paint and take more pics with my digital camera.

On Monday, I spent the morning reading the user manual to my G9 Canon. I have only gotten half way through it. There are so many neat functions on the camera. I wanted to try some of them out, so I went for a walk near my apartment. The cherry blossoms have just begun to bloom. I used the color enhancer feature for the Cherry blossoms picture. It took the tangerine color of the wall and added it to the blossoms and building's wood grain.

For the Buddha picture I used the feature which chooses one color in the image and keeps only that color. All the other colors are muted to a grayish hue. I like how the Buddha statue came out with red chosen as the featured color. The camelia bush also had red blooms. The last visit was to some wooden sculptures of Gods that my Husband had pointed out to me a few months ago. I used Irfanview to save as a b/w. I plan to make small prints of these latter two images available soon.

Just a side note: All these photos were taken on an overcast day. For speed, these photos are low resolution, 72dpi.