music: 'pure' by mirah & ginger brooks takahashi /brochure kindly provided by whitney museum of american art

a work in progress, i used a free ipod app to film this, i wanted to record the process of this little book before the metamorphosis is complete. it was a pain to do it and upload it so even if i killed the surprise element towards the end (the idea was for people to know it was a whitney brochure only at the end of the video), i'm still sharing it here. i want to shoot tons of videos now, i want a flip camera!

making this little book is such a joy for me, i love the idea of one thing becoming another and the element of play involved in the process. it's not intended to be anything but what it is and i love it for that.

i just watched the video and flickr didn't upload the whole thing. i hope i do better the next time, i plan to try making more little D.I.Y. videos with my toy camera...

this is from today´s visit with my IB art students to an alternative art space called 80m2. we're intervening peruvian artist (and good friend of mine) alfredo marquez' installation vale un perú. my students met him and discussed his piece, it was a beautiful experience for them and therefore for me...

i'm struggling to stay still in one place and make this kind of meditative work. i've been looking a lot at pomegranates, they're savage looking and beautiful... if i keep being so restless i will never finish this study... i'm also working on a textured canvas which i think i will use for a self portrait with pomegranates, not sure yet. the layering on the canvas makes me extremely happy and excited, i have no idea how i survived for so long without gesso in my life...

this is so different for me, i'm trying to convey the essence of what street walls containing layers and layers of people's marks and energy make me feel. it's a lot harder than i thought as i don't want to fall into trying to just copy a layered wall but here's my first attempt. i'm happy about the way it's turning out.

i've been obsessed with layers and working in my journal this week. mixed media work and journaling give me joy. i had been alienated form my beloved journals for a while now but teaching about exploration of materials and processes has helped me immensely in reconnecting with them.

this one reminds me so much of the street layers in new york walls

this was made using leftovers from my students' work

these are all works in progress/experiments; the possibilities are endless, i feel i could spend hours, days just playing in my journals. soon these experiments will be incorporated into my artwork but for now i'm finding pleasure and happiness in letting myself go and playing with absolutely no pressure of turning them into something more...

i still dont get used to the work rhythm of school and getting up so early (5:30 a.m.) so i basically make no art during the week. all the drawings i'm making are with colour pencils in my moleskin book and they're all of simple things. i get an immense pleasure out of making these drawings, this one is of a bird's nest i found in the park as i went to work one day but i used the hipstamatic app to take the photo so it's cool but not really clear. drawing a bird's nest is incredibly complex and intricate. i have always wondered how birds build their nests but after observing one for so long as i drew it i became even more interested in them. (plus they're homes and that is a huge topic for me) i also found several bugs in the nest, i guess it's left over food. this nest will probably end in a box, i'm sketching 'the box of memory', will post a sketch of it if i can take a clear picture (no hisptamatic app for that, it's kind of addictive)