I decided that I wanted to change up this week’s post by featuring some photos of blooming flowers that I saw on campus this past week. These pictures are some of my favorites, as I decided to utilize my pro mist filter on my camera to defuse the natural sunlight to add a soft glow to some of the pictures. Also, I decided to make sure the colors were vibrant to show how youthful the flowers looked. Enjoy đ
My Secret
You said my secret
was safe
in your locked box
made of rib bones
You said you bundled it up
in a cream-colored cloth
and tied it with string
so the pieces wouldn’t fall out
You said when you heard it
you took a key to your mouth
twisted it shut
and swallowed
Because there are listening ears
and sly fingers
there to consume
The secret that floats in my face
foaming from your mouth
between us and everyone
Where are the promises
the bond in the box
the oath tied with string
In the air with everything else
that you said was safe
in your locked box
made of rib bones
Hey all,
This week I wanted to feature my take on Atira, the Pawnee tribe’s Mother goddess figure. I drew inspiration from old black-and-white photographs of traditional indigenous clothing that women would wear for this drawing. I really like the earthy tones and colors, especially how the spots on the top shoulders of her dress emulate the spots on baby deer.
Name: Jasmin Lee
Mix: Black & Chinese-Malaysian
Major & Year: Creative Writing & American Culture; Senior
Q:Â How has being mixed affected your campus experience?
A: Being mixed is a unique experience for everyone, but my childhood in navigating different cultures has allowed me to find similarities with anyone I’m talking to. This has helped me make new friends throughout college and open myself to new opportunities.
Q:Â What do you wish more people knew about the mixed experience?
A: I wish people knew that it can be exhausting to fit into expectations of who you are supposed to be based on how you look. Being mixed is an experience that can be both exhausting and exciting at the same time, but I am learning to be okay with being myself around others and not who people think I should be.
Q: What are you most anxious about right now?
A:Â I am most anxious about graduating. Going out into the real world and adulting seems scary but I am just trying to take it one step at a time.
Q: What kind of person do you aspire to be?
A:Â I aspire to be a person who is unapologetic about who I am. I am still working on this but I am learning to accept how my identity impacts my view of the world, and being okay with it.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by my table during Con Ja Nai 2023 and made it a successful con for me! I had a great time talking to everyone and supporting my other friends in the Artist Alley as well as Maid Cafe this time around. I’m looking forward to the next Con Ja Nai and the rest of this year’s con season! My next con is Anime Park in Canton, MI on May 6th, so I hope I’ll see you there if you’ll still be in the area!
In other updates, I’ve been working on environmental concept art featuring my visual novel story idea “Blade of Seafoam”‘s main cast for my Sophomore Year Project that I will be presenting at Stamps for my Sophomore Review on the 18th. If you’re a current freshman at Stamps and want to watch to see how Sophomore Review goes for a student focusing on entertainment art and concept art, feel free to come watch!
My preliminary thumbnail sketches:
My current digital sketches for the three environmental concept art pieces, based off of bucket wheel excavators, the “Z Machine” X-ray source, and Gunkanjima Island respectively:
And here’s my current sketch for the cover art of this concept art “pitch bible”:
I will be working more on my “Blade of Seafoam” concepts over the summer both as portfolio work and so that I can proceed further in developing this story idea into a fully fledged visual novel with three story routes to be my next project after “Flamechaser” sees a full release. I’ll also post my entire completed Sophomore Year Project in a week or two.
I’ll be making a few more posts before the end of the winter semester here on arts, ink, so stay tuned for more!
This is Sigrid “Sigi” Holgata, a witch/volva in my story. The left and center figures really have a western influence, but I think think the far right outfit works for her better. I like the silhouette and it’s much easier to draw. The colors are more striking too, plus, I was never a puffed-shoulders kind of person. I’ll keep the hat thought. I will keep working on embroidery for the outfit on the far right too.
I drew these with no pen pressure. It helped me think less about making the lines perfect. I built from sketch below. I freehanded the hat, cape, and far-right outfit.
