UPDATED WORKSPACE.

A little over a year ago, I made a post about my workspace. Like every artist out there a workspace is essentially the most important part of the whole process. A workspace can tell you so much about an artist and how they go about approaching their medium. I like the saying that goes kind of like how the organization of a place is a reflection of one's thought process. The neater my workspace is, the more productive I get. That doesn't mean that my station never gets messy though. When I'm really into my work, that's when things get a little messy, haha. The cleanup part is also kind of fun anyways. 

If you've been reading AeroDynamo for a while now, you can see how much has changed in a year. I decided to install shelves and add a bit of decoration to my area. All the tags and other stuff I had posted on my wall are still with me! I'm looking for another way to incorporate them. 

The clear containers are from Muji. Originally I had these pens in a black box and it was such a pain fishing through them to find the right one. I'm so glad that I've stumbled upon these organizers at Muji. Quite the space saver too! Ever since I decided to place my Copics up on the shelves, my desk space expanded so much. 

Heh, got these two Sonny Angel figurines from a local toy store, they are also the limited edition Ladurée figures! The Voluspa candle smells absolutely wonderful. I normally light it when I want to draw and relax. The smell is very light and not overbearing, I'm not a fan of super sweet scents. 

Another candle, lol. I got this one from Anthropologie! It's Espresso scented and like the Voluspa one, it isn't a scent that is way too strong. I light this one when I want to study, the scent of coffee makes me feel a lot more concentrated. 

This super awesome DIY marquee is from Michaels. You can actually customize it any way you want as the material is a stiff cardboard, but I'd rather leave it clean and white. 

I find that these three things basically sum up my personality. lol. The skull is actually a pen holder but I like it better as a decorative item. 

Lastly, my Copics. I got a new set earlier this year as a birthday gift to myself. 

One day, instead of a workspace tour, I'll be posting a studio tour. 

Thanks for reading!

.s

BIBLIOPHILE: READS FOR MARCH-MAY 2015

School is finally over. I survived my freshman year of college and honestly, it was more manageable than expected. In high school they use fear tactics to make you think that university is this big scary place where every assignment matters and if you miss class one day the university will kick you out. All those assumptions are false. To sum up my first year as a college student, I'd have to say it was challenging, but it was doable. I'm not saying that college is a walk in the park, but it's also not thermodynamic problem solving (unless you're majoring in thermodynamics, if so, disregard). There were many nights that as an art student I felt like my abilities were not good enough, but I persevered. I worked hard and I survived. The nights where I found myself stressed were spent of course, reading.

Another part of my Bibliophile series! You can find the last one I did, right over here. 

Throughout March and May, my classes became pretty hectic hence the stress, but I was pretty surprised I was able to read and absorb all these books I have down. 

Within those three months, I read five books. 

1. Soppy by: Philippa Rice

2. Hi, Konnichiwa by: Yayoi Kusama

3. Humans of New York by: Brandon Stanton

4. Grace's Guide by: Grace Helbig

5. Asian Street Fashion by: James Bent

First one up! Soppy

Philippa Rice is a UK based illustrator who compiled together various pieces she did reflecting her life with her boyfriend Luke. This book is probably one of my new favorites because not only is it very simple but it's also really aesthetically pleasing. I love the minimal usage of color she uses for all of her illustrations. This book is also really cute, lol. I had my friends Nikki and Tiffanie read it, and both fell in love with how cute Philippa and Luke's relationship is. 

Soppy is not a chapter book, but a collection of illustrations chronicling everyday adventures Philippa has with Luke. You can see what I mean by the minimal usage of colors. 

For more information on Philippa Rice and her illustrations, visit her website here! Or browse her tumblr over here. 

Next, Yayoi Kusama's art book, Hi, Konnichiwa.

I consider Yayoi Kusama to be one of my inspirations and imaginary eccentric grandmother, so when I saw that she had an art book that housed all her works, I immediately bought it. Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese avant-garde artist who specializes in these billions of polka dots she calls "Infinity Nets". All you fashion-folk out there might remember the collaboration she did was Louis Vuitton back in 2012. 

Ah yes, the famous Humans of New York book. Obviously if I were to do a book review post, this one could not get left behind! I actually got this book as a present from my sister but I didn't get around to fully reading it until recently. 

I'm sure many of you are familiar with HONY. New York based photographer Brandon Stanton compiled together photos he's taken of people in New York in this nifty little book. There are tiny captions in and around each page that describe the situation of each shot. 

For more information on Brandon Stanton and his work, check out the HONY website, here!

If there is one thing in particular I would not have expected to read at all, it would be Grace Helbig's Grace's Guide.

 

Grace's Guide is a self-help book and seeing as I'm not really a legitimate grown up yet, I had my doubts whether or not I could relate to what she had to say. Within the first five pages I was hooked instantly! I've been watching Grace Helbig on YouTube for quite some time now and reading her book made my fondness for her grow stronger. I know those stressful nights were relieved quite a bit when I was reading this. 

James Bent's Asian Street Fashion completes this list.

Think of this book as HONY's more fashionable younger sibling. Photographer James Bent went around cities in Asia such as Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, etc and photographed various people in fashionable clothing. The book is split up into sections that deal with the seasons, men's fashion, and women's fashion. I had a great time flipping through the pages, it's pretty inspiring actually! After looking through I felt like I needed to go shopping and give my closet an overhaul, haha. 

This book is actually a great resource when it comes to illustrating as well. I've been drawing some of the people featured in this book (will be posting about that another time). 

There you have it! My book reads for March-May. Have you all been reading lately? 

.s

SCENES FROM OSAKA

This is mega late. Like really, really late. The final part of my Syd in Japan posts is now here and I'm having a pretty good time reminiscing the last few days of my trip. We took the bullet train/shinkansen to Osaka and compared to Tokyo, Osaka has a more laid back feel to it. Both are large cities but the vibe I got from Osaka was completely different than Tokyo.

We got these amazing pineberries! Basically, white strawberries but they taste exactly like pineapples. Produce in Japan is freaky expensive, I think my sis paid about 80 USD for a box.

Quick thing btw, all the photos present on this blog were taken on my iPhone. I got extremely tired of bringing my gigantic DSLR with me everywhere, so I opted for my cellphone instead. 

The first day was very rainy and the deck of our hotel was really soaked. It was pretty though!

Compared to the hotel we stayed at in Shinjuku, this hotel in Osaka was situated in the business district. Very quiet in comparison to Shinjuku's constant hustle. 

 

I loved these guys' backpacks. 

Dad and I on a billboard!

 Queen Kyary

Cute couple in couple clothing. Say that 5x fast.

I went inside Urban Research Store and fell in love with the designs, bloody expensive though.

I didn't care if it was 20 degrees out, I had to get a Green Tea Soft Cream.

On our last day, M and I made friends with Hayato-san, who sold her those lovely shoes he's holding
はやとさん、お元気ですか？


That's it for my Syd in Japan series! I hope you've enjoyed these late posts and please do forgive me for them being so back logged.

.s