Liz Danzico

"The people that I respect the most,

the people who are doing great things,

are people who care so much about what they do

that they can’t stop." – Liz Danzico

on your way here, an interview magazine from Dave Dawson.

Spring break 2011: II

Since we learned about my husband's illness, our family activities have been limited to what he can do:  can't plan an overnight trip nor any strenously physical activities with kids.  Our son, J, especially, has learned to understand and adapt to the new situation with his daddy's medical treatment, and helped his little sister to get along well.
But Daddy has been trying to be more active with our kids this week since it is their Spring break.  He has prepared a special event for each day even though he's fatigued with weakened muscles and a headache caused by medications.  One of the amazing plans was a visit to 'Chambers Creek'.

                                                                                                       photos by P. K

It was refreshing and relieving... the pressures on our shoulders were lifted with the wind blowing and with the seraphic nature of that day.
And...
We thank P, the kids' daddy and my precious husband, for his willingness to be happy.

Spring break 2011: I

J and C’s Spring break officially starts tomorrow.

Yes, it seems a little early for the Spring break and the weather here is still gloomy and chilly with no spring sunshine.  But the kids are excited for the break from school and look forward to having some unexpected moments.

Papa the planner has already planned several activities and makes a schedule for their cool week.  Of course, mama the operator also has waited for the actions all square.

On Saturday, mama and papa offered a 'construction day' for J and C.

Princess Castle for C

F-14A Tomcat for J.

+ under construction +

+ looking carefully the diagram +

+ being serious +

+ perfect size for little ones +

Crisis in Japan

My sister and her husband are in Tokyo, Japan...

I was finally able to talk with my sister over the phone this morning.  She and her husband were on a subway in downtown Tokyo when that earthquake hit Japan on March 11th.  Because of all the damage and power outage, they could not go home that day and had to go to a shelter (hotel lobby).  Fallen debris blocked the roads and public transportation was unreliable.  Within days, gas price was hiked up, phone lines were down, water and electricity were running low.

They tried to leave Japan but the earliest flight they could reserve was on Sunday, so they decided to go to Fukuoka, a city 5 hours SW of Tokyo, and take a ferry to Pusan, Korea.

We were worried about the possible radiation exposure and the chaos following the disaster, but we were told that people in Tokyo are very orderly and they go about their daily business as usual.  Their seemingly calmness and social order is amazing.  Not even 1 looting has been reported.  No one is trying to hoard up water or food.

Even though I was very relieved by the fact that my loved ones are safe, many people are in a terrible state of the disaster. It's a pretty kettle of fish... This is all so surreal in a very sad way.  It is so sobering to know that nobody can prevent a natural disaster like the mega tsunami.  We realize again how fragile we are on this earth. The loss and damage in Japan are just unimaginable.  My heart and prayer go out to people who are affected.

 

FIND

photo by {studio S}

The book of “Theories and documents of Contemporary Art: a sourcebook of Artists’ writings’ shows Robert Motherwell’s mention that “Structures are found in the interaction of the body-mind and the external world; and the body-mind is active and aggressive in finding them. As Picasso says, there is no use looking at random: to find is the thing.”

Through the experience of many drawings, I realized that to find an object for the drawing was important. According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, one of the meanings of ‘object’ is that something or someone that produces interest, attention, or some other stated feeling. An object for drawing is not only a thing what we see, but it is a subject what we feel about. I believe to get a good object for drawing is to find an object that attracts a creator’s feeling. Not only for a drawing but for all kind of two or three dimensional creation, it is important that how an artist conceives the conception of a form and composition through an object. To express what you feel an object is not easy because it needs lots of practice to find attention or some other stated feeling from the object.

<1>

photo by {studio S}

Compare to <1> and <2>, the picture of <1> which is easy to figure out this immediately because it is common view to us. But, <2> shows a part of image from <1>. Because <2> does not show whole image, cropped image from the whole picture, it is more interesting and grabs our attention. I cropped the image of <2> out from the image of <1>. The image of <2> is a more simplified relationship on form relationship and a stronger and more powerful composition than the image of <1>.

<2>

photo by {studio S}

Instead of taking the image from an object or sight, I prefer to take an image cropped out, deducted, or subtracted by the perception of form. Motherwell mentioned also that “The aesthetic is the sine qua non for art: if a work is not aesthetic, it is not art by definition. But in this stage of the creative process, the strictly aesthetic-which is the sensuous aspect of the world ceases to be the chief end in view. The function of the aesthetic instead becomes that of a medium, a means for getting at the infinite background of feeling in order to condense it into an object of perception. We feel through the senses, and everyone knows that the content of art is feeling; it is the creation of an object for sensing that is the artist’s task; and it is the qualities of this object that constitute its felt content. Feelings are “objective” nor “subjective,” but both, since all “objects” or “things” are the result of an interaction between the body-mind and the external world. “Body-mind” and “external world” are themselves sharp concepts only for the purposes of critical discourse, and from the standpoint of a stone are perhaps valid but certainly unimportant distinctions. It is natural to rearrange or invent in order to bring about states of feeling that we like, just as a new tenant refurnishes a house.”