Nucleus Gallery and Store

Like I mentioned on yesterday's post, I'm back to talk about this Nucleus Gallery that I'm fascinated with!

Here's the official website before I forget to post it up:http://www.gallerynucleus.com/

I'm not sure if I've seen enough Gallery's official websites to say this, but it is very surprising that Nucleus Gallery not only hosts art exhibitions to sell artworks, prints, and also functions as a store, but the most important thing of all is that they categorize all the artists that have showed their work in Nucleus Gallery! Not just that, they also have links linked to artists' online portfolio or personal websites, so it is very easy to surf and read about these artists if you came across someone's work, and you really love it.

Nucleus Gallery also did an excellent job of archiving past events. They keep photos and information from the events (say a gallery exhibition in January 2009), they do not delete those photos. PLUS, every art piece showcased in that exhibition will also get archived! That means, you are able to view them all without attending an event that took place 2 or 3 years ago. If you want to further explorer what they have at the moment in the gallery and the art world itself, check out the Blog. It shares things that might be interesting to artists/general public/art students out there.

So, enjoy!

S.B.S.(Sketch Book Society)

I learned about SBS Club through an art gallery called Nucleus Gallery online. It is located in the city of Pasadena (California). A year ago, I was in Art 400 Individual Study class with an illustration professor who was trying to help me on finding my own style. As I started to explorer the world of illustration through Google-search (sometimes it's just amazes me how much stuff I can discover from Google simply by typing in different keywords), I came across this Nucleus Gallery's website which showcased several illustrators' artworks that I fell in love with.

I'll introduce this wonderful little world of art and illustration within this gallery in the next post. Now I'll stay on track and avoid the temptation to go off topic, but really, the artworks in Nucleus Gallery are awesome!

Ok, back to the topic.

I've been viewing the gallery's website occasionally when I have the time. Recently, I discovered the gallery not only has more workshops, it also hosts a new activity, and it's on every Wednesday night from 6pm~9pm! This event is called Sketch Book Society (SBS in short), and it's for local professionals and artists who have a passion for drawing and illustrated art! I believe the general public is also welcomed, and if the person wishes to bring a friend to find out what exactly people are doing during these 3 hours, it is ok to do so.

Personally I haven't attended this event myself yet, but I will soon. Here is the most current link of SBS:
http://www.gallerynucleus.com/event/186

This is a blog post written by someone who has attended the event already:
http://www.gallerynucleus.com/blog/view/436

Reading this post, gave me courage for wanting to attend it myself! And I will!. Maybe I'll even write my experience after I come back from there too...

How Art can be applied to daily life

When I was in Graphic Design major as an undergrad, I learned from my peers and professors when it came to the question "How art can be applied to daily life", we would pretty much answer in unity, "Well, it is used in TV commercials, editorial layouts (magazines, newspaper, posters, ads, brochure, postcards, stationary, product packages...etc.), DVD selection platforms (where you select the language and subtitles), album cover, book cover, illustration, banners, window displays.....almost everything you see in life can be design-related, and that means, they are related to art."

After all, design is a much more modern approach that branches out from the traditional art category.

Now, there is another type of art that I have not thought of before, but when I read about these two graphic designers from DPI Magazine, I instantly feel that what they are doing is another wonderful approach that combines art and design together!

The two artists, Ariel Aguilera & Andrea Benyi, have a studio called Pandarosa Art & Design. They expanded their visual approach from graphics to exhibition, installation, animation, and interior based designs. Personally, I'm very surprised to see that graphic design can be applied in an interior that enhances the whole look and feel of that space.

Here are several images from their website, which I truly admire!
http://pandarosa.net/

*Pandarosa = Pink Panda

Expressive Drawing assignment

I was in an Expressive Drawing class this morning, and had finished a midterm piece to turn in. After that, all I did was flip through magazines to find inspiration for the next assignment: draw/paint something that I feel is the ugliest object/theme but people still view it as art. I could imitate an art style that a classmate has that I don't like at all.

Well, I was dumbfounded...

Now,I do not want to be rude to anyone in the class since some of their styles I don't feel anything that clicks in me when I see their work, most of my classmates have nothing that directs all my attention in a second. Since I do not want to offend them, I chose not to go toward that direction.

So what was left was I could explore with a media that I have no time to mess with since the experiment could end up being very, very ugly. Normally, that means I would make a complete mess. But, this time around, making a mess and ruining something, is what is encouraged. So, why not start with watercolor paint? And that's what I did.

Turns out my neighbors thought it was too pretty to ruin it. (I'll take a picture of it later and upload it for people to see). They said it was "abstract", "could be anything", "looks like sea weed/jelly fish/mysterious smoke". Some even said if I really want to make it ugly as possible, just dump whatever paint or charcoal or other medium on it, and that sure will be ugly.

As the discussion died down, they all said "Don't ruin it, save this piece for another assignment".

Hmmmm, no wonder art is hard to judge. It can be interpreted in many possible ways....

























Now, if it's viewed upside down, it looks like something else..........

DPI magazines

I don't remember how I got to DP Magazine's website, or how I came across it at all....All I can remember is that I was fascinated by the fact that they have tons of interviews of current graphic designers, illustrators (editorial and fashion, even book covers), 3D animation artists, character designers, interior decoration artists, etc. Most important of all, they're all currently working and self-employed. That means what they know about Arts and Design are very current, not old-fashioned.

The thing with the magazine is that it gives you the most updated knowledge in the area of your interest. I found DPI Magazine a very useful source to understand what the work is like in France, Ireland, Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, and many other countries without sourcing the country. PLUS, the magazine tells you how each artist make their own art, where they find their inspiration, facts about their education, and their work process. This publication is written in both Chinese and English, so it automatically broadens the range of readers right on the spot.

Here's the link:
http://tw.mydpi.com/mag/