Happy Halloween!

Twins at Halloween dance party! (Photo by Brian Nishii)

Decided to take advantage of having our parents in town for the weekend for Cedro’s first Halloween (aka free babysitting), so we were able to go out for some quality sister time.  So what did the Barkada(ko) sisters dress up as?  Twins, of course!

Had a great time going out dancing.  First time for me to go out dancing in a year without feeling nauseous!  YAY!  The music was great and we had fun on our double date with our hubbies.

While we were out, we were inspired to make plans to start planning Arty Party 2011.  This time in LA.  This time with a focus on video animations and projections.  We’re thinking maybe in June?  Mark your calendars, friends and family of Barkada(ko)!  Stay tuned!

LED wall (Photos by Daniel Yoo)

Exhibition One Hundred Exhibit Closing Day

I wasn’t able to attend the opening reception so I feel fortunate that I had a chance to swing by the gallery space today.  The experience means so much to me on so many different levels.  First, it’s a thrill to see my work on display IN PUBLIC.  It’s the same feeling I get when I bump into someone out and about who happens to be wearing a Barkada(ko) tshirt.  Second, it’s an honor to see my work alongside those of esteemed artists.  Third, it simply makes me happy that I’m drawing again.  Fourth, with my new muse, baby Cedro, in my life, I feel so inspired and motivated to create more art. (Just need to find a way to do it with this breastfeeding lifestyle!)

original charcoal drawing

And last but not least, the act of going to Hollywood with Cedro on my own is a BIG deal!  Leaving the house lately tends to require a 2-hour ritual of feeding, changing, diaper-bag-prepping and emergency-bottle-prepping on top of changing myself into a presentable nursing-friendly outfit, putting on a little makeup to disguise the fact that I’m sleep-deprived, packing some water and a snack for myself, packing whatever I need for my final destination and looking up directions in case my navigation thingie on my phone poops out.

Thanks to my husband, Brian, we were able to get out the door together in 35 minutes!  So, out we went in the Nishii-mobile minivan.  We dropped off Brian at his audiobook recording gig in Studio City so I could have access to the car and continued on to Hollywood at the A & I Gallery.  I feel more and more empowered to run errands on my own with Cedro and generally live life beyond our little apartment!  It feels like yesterday when I felt like it would be next to impossible to leave the house at all!  I’ve definitely come a long way.

Cedro, my model and muse

So here’s to new beginnings!  To the rebirth of my artistic career and to my new life as a mommy.

While today is the closing day of the exhibit at A & I Gallery, you can continue to purchase a print at the Exhibition One Hundred website.  I must give a shout-out to Barkada(ko) supermodel and superfriend, Cat Jimenez, founder and curator of Edition One Hundred.  Thank you, Cat, for believing in me.