SSSUUUUUSSSSHHHIIIIIIIIIII

fo' dinnah!

In other news, we watched Disney's Around the World in 80 Days for our Ideologies of East and West class today and I was kinda mortified by the poor execution of the general theatrical performance. Particularly Schwarzneggar as the Turkish sultan or king or prince or whatnot. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a kick out of Jackie Chan's minute and a half kung-fu action solely using a wooden bench. 

I'm'a off to watch Stranger Than Fiction with Scott now. Toodles!

Architecture Exam & What I Wore

Well, yesterday was spent studying studying studying for the architecture exam! It's been a while since I've worked this hard to memorize dates and theory and concrete information. But by the end of the day I was actually really pleased because I felt like I learned something that I personally felt was valuable. At least by the end of this spring break I've come to understand that I'm a big fan of the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and that I need to pay a visit to the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California and check out Louis Kahn's architecture with my real eyes before I graduate from Soka.

Anyway, I really needed exercise yesterday but since I didn't have the leisure to put down my notes, I decided my notes could stay as I worked my muscles. Hence, the intense exam-study-yoga action below.

Lacking in the spiritual aspect but hey wachugonnado

 TODAY! EXAM! I got up early and had a chanting toso with my friend Maiko from 7:30 am. Felt great after chanting and a delicious bowl of granola-honey-cinnamon-yogurt and tackled my notes some more until the exam at 1:00pm. I was a little mortified tho because the exam itself was quite different from the study guide we had been given. But I think I got through it somehow all right. I'm nervous about the results but at least I know that I did my best. Yeah, that I did.

Study days wardrobe

Thank you again for your encouraging replies to the earlier posts! I'll do what I can to keep these What I Wore uploads going. c: These are from the past three days. As it's probably apparent, I really wasn't in any state to be caring about my attire on Thursday. Everyone has those days, amiright?

 Friday was a cramming-for-studies day. Why yes, I am wearing the House Brawl sweatshirt from Threadless designed by Alice X. Zhang! I bought this in tribute to the Harry Potter 7 Part 1 premiere in November! So darn proud of it!

And then today, Saturday, was also a study day. I was pleasantly surprised at how productive I was for the majority of the day. A group of students on campus participated in Earth Hour 2011, coordinated by the Environmental Department. We all unplugged ourselves from our digital lives (which was alarmingly liberating) and gathered to play some outdoor games like tag and icebreaker-y stuff. We had so much fun that we never got around to sharing scary stories and listening to live acoustic music, which was on the agenda.

Tomorrow is the last day I've got left to prepare for the architecture exam! Aaaaah wish me luck!

Wine Mixer flyer

Yesterday was a downer day for me. I felt completely reluctant to do anything productive and my recent subscription to Netflix did nothing to help that situation. So I ended up watching three and a quarter movies yesterday:  Tangled (again), Everything is Illuminated (Russian film starring Elijah Wood), The Big Lebowski (again), and a part of Rango (starring the voice of Johnny Depp) on another online streaming site. I didn't have high hopes for Rango to begin with but 20 minutes was enough for me to shut it off. I don't need anything more than Willy Wonka and the Hatter to tarnish my image of Johnny. 

Hence, been studying most of the day today to catch up. I've got a pretty intense architecture exam coming up on Monday which I can never be overly prepared for.

I also drew this flyer for a campus event coming up. 

Thank you for your comments on the previous post! I'll compensate by posting my uninteresting* garb from the past two days in one dump tomorrow.

*Study days and moody days deserve nothing more or less than sweats and PJs. 

Adventure boy finished

Sorry for spamming all of your inboxes with my wardrobe doodles every day! I can imagine how annoying it would be so I'll tone down the posting from now on.

I'll just share one drawing that I finished last night.

Avery at aflora.deviantart.com

What I wore

I wish there was a way to guarantee productivity on study days.

Felt flower garlands!

I finally made the flower garland after Mikodesign's tutorial!!

Wow, I can't begin to express how much fun I had with this!

Hey,

please know that I'm chanting for you.

What I wore

Rain and wind and flying leaves

Happy Purim! What I wore

Today I celebrated the Jewish holiday Purim with my friend, Scott, who hosted a small party in his room. We had tea and matza dipped in dulce de leche, played a game of mahjong (quite unconnectedly), and watched One Night with the King. Though I couldn't stay for the whole movie, Scott shared the story of Purim with me, in which the Jewish Queen Esther succeeded in thwarting the plan of Haman to exterminate the Jewish people. During the party, Scott pulled out a pair of holographic glasses that turned every light source into little stars of David--a few of us kinda went crazy over them. It was the trippiest, prettiest experience you could ever get with a mere 10 cents.

YAY JUDEO-VISION

Adventure Aviator Boy

Wow, I had a crazy evening. More like a hormonal storm of self-upbraiding. I just needed to come back, scarf down a brownie or two, kick back to some Kate Nash and draw something innocent. So here's a work in progress that I began an hour ago:

Behold the messy sketchiness of my work process

close up detail

Again, hurray for spring break! I'll probably just spend the whole time sleeping, eating, drawing, Netflixing and yogaing. What are your plans?

Spring Break!

What I forgot to wear today

Happy St. Patty's!

Thangs I wore

So I know it's pretty silly and obnoxious to be posting these afterward but I wasn't very much in the mood or state to share anything personal the past few days. After I got the rescue Japan drawing off my chest I'm feeling much better. So here's a glimpse of my wardrobe this week. I scrapped the idea of reporting the weather for each day--I'm in Southern California so there's not much variety in climate anyhow.

Monday, I was feeling pretty drained from two classes and an intense (but invigorating) student forum in the evening. All the while I was feeling stressed from the news on the nuclear plants in Fukushima. Here I'm sporting the That's Amore Dress in black from Modcloth and a golden swan brooch from Sprout Studio. Yay online shopping!

Lazy Tuesday. Feeling the forecast of an oncoming menstrual cycle so stocking up on dark chocolate covered blueberries and parmesan, garlic and herb flavored pita chips from Trader Joe's.

Today is Wednesday, which means lots of classes and yoga in the afternoon--all of which calls for cheep spandex leggings, a loose H&M tanktop and a baggy hand-me-down shirt from Dad. Course-wise, I had Symbolic Logic in the morning and Architecture in the afternoon. Instead of the usual lecture course, we were given a tour through the new Performing Arts Theater! It was my first time in and I was so stoked. I snapped away on my camera. FYI, it's a green building that's LEED certified for a gold standard!

And finally, look what arrived in the mail today! 

This is a bookmark by Lesley Barnes, a phenomenal and colorful artist, whose artwork was being offered in a giveaway at Deborah's adorable blog, Kickcan & Conkers. I couldn't believe my luck when my name was drawn and I'm so excited to sandwich this lovely bookmark between the pages of Alice Munro's shortstories in Too Much Happiness. 

That's all for now folks! I gotta dash to make it to dinner! Toodles!

Let's rescue Japan!

Please lend a hand in saving Japan from its ongoing calamities.

A high amount of radiation is leaking from the fires and explosions of the four nuclear power plants in Fukushima prefecture. [read more on the radiation hazard], over 2000 bodies have been found on the coastal areas of Miyagi prefecture and still many more are trapped under rubble [more on tsunami aftermath], and food and electricity shortages are occurring daily across the mainland [more on power cuts].

You can help by making donations to organizations such as:

THE RED CROSS (text REDCROSS to 90999 or visit their site here)

THE JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI RELIEF FUND (visit their site here)

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS (text MED to 80888 or visit their site here)

If you are a Japanese youth or college student, you can lend a hand by joining YOUTH FOR 3.11 to help with reconstruction projects once the Self-Defense Forces and government gives the OK for civilian volunteer participation.

Thank you!

9.0

I am so tired.

But so relieved that so far the news from family and friends have all been positive.

I ache for the loss of the people in Sendai and those still caught under water, rubble and earth. Chanting so hard in my heart.

Florence

What I wore

lol, back so soon. It didn't feel right ending the previous post so ambiguously, so I'm sharing this!

Recently, I've been very keen on dressing up everyday. I think fashion is fun and being a college student is no reason to have to give up a nice dress or heals. I just got a couple new, comfy, and fabulously discounted heals and dresses from Modcloth the other day. I definitely believe that fashion is a mode of self expression--and every morning I wake up and arrange colors according to how I feel. 

This morning I went for the Summer Finn look, after listening to She & Him all night long. Oh if you like 500 Days of Summer, I recommend you watch this. Like highly recommend.

Tiffany has been so inspiring lately posting her daily attire on her blog so I've been itching to follow suit (no pun intended). 

Arts galore!

I'm a little frustrated and overwhelmed but in such a mild and calm way that it's hardly noticeable under this dazzling California sunshine. I've only been posting art blurbs here lately but a lot has been on my mind. Right now I just came out of a class that I felt was stressful, disorganized and oppressive--this is merely my feeling. I just need to write to release some of that tension. So allow me to just blurb. Hopefully something interesting will come from it.

Yesterday I went to the DMV at 8:30 AM to take the paper test and obtain a permit... my second permit to be exact, since my previous one expired before I really took the initiative to take the driving test. Note to you all: if you ever need to go to the DMV, make an appointment beforehand. Granted, usually you have to book like 1.5 months ahead, but still, nothing beats the sensation of cutting that enormous 2 hour line. Nothing. And I passed, for anyone concerned. c:

A portion of this overwhelming feeling is from all the art I feel like I need to do. I've still got like 9 commission pieces I want to complete and most of them I've already gone half-way through. I work sporadically and alternately on different projects because my tendency is to get bored with one. And sometimes I'm in the mood to draft out layouts and sketches, other times I just want to be choosing colors and rendering... so you know, this method works for me. I finished this commission last night for ShineyShane. You can find out more about these original characters on her deviantart. :)

A commission for Shineyshane depicting
her original characters: Dhan and Julie

And on top of that I'm getting all these creative inspirations but they somehow only come past midnight, just as I'm getting ready to sleep. So I draw them out before they escape me, and another one comes, and another! It's a wonderful feeling but I really need to sleep so I wish my inner psyche would cut me some slack. And I'm hoping to be able to use these ideas for my independent study course. But I don't feel like that's getting anywhere either. It's really hard accomplishing anything when I feel like there's nothing driving me or guiding me with my art. More than ever now I wish I could enroll in an art course and actually learn from people who excel in the digital medium I'm interested in and who can provide the healthy environment from which I can receive valuable critiques. I really feel on my own right now. And I'm doing my very best to push myself and act as my own trainer. 

Hmm, in other news, I just bought a bunch of colorful felt to try out Mikodesign's tutorial on making cute felt flower garlands. I absolutely adore her website and inventions--if you're crafty and girly you may just adore it too. I'll gather a few friends and we'll sew them up together sometime next week.

That seems to be a good note to leave it on. I'll be back to post some stuff again soon. Please excuse this haphazard and tangental post.

Nicholai

A portrait of a boy, inspired by this and this.

New Gallery!

Well I've got some big news--big in my standards. I've created a second deviantArt account! There are numerous reasons for my doing so, one of which was that I really didn't want to be stuck with my middle school fan fic name forever... back when I was really into Greek mythology... and I really wanted a name without numbers.

But the main reason is that I'm finally letting myself draw from my gut. I've accumulated so many ideas and images in my mind over the past decade that I've just been too hesitant to let out. Now that I've had some practice with digital art, I think it's due time that I liberate them from my system. So this gallery, "aflora" will feature original concepts. I'll still maintain "selene231" regularly because god knows I can't go on without my regular dosage of fan art doodles. :) I don't intend to cease drawing Harry Potter themes anytime soon. 

Below are just a few beginning pieces that will go into this gallery. 

Red one

This one has been on my mind since last summer. I've yet to make sense out of it. But this image of a bold red half circle and fish has been nagging at me day and night. This is one from a series to come.

 

I know I won't stop drawing people, especially women. These colors mean a lot to me and I think they'll be used for a lot of pieces in my gallery. This one is a work in progress, and I'm still playing around with the composition and background. We'll see how this turns out.

The Tree that Fell in Love

Another work in progress. The idea came to me during a night walk around campus. I'm trying out different angles and compositions. I do like circles and floral motifs, though! c: 

I'm really excited about this because I feel like I'm finally stepping out of my comfort zone. Tomorrow, I talk to my professor, John Kehlen, about the prospect of doing an illustrated Capstone project. More about that later. Good night for now!