film school

springtime

somehow winter has passed and now spring is underway with fierce winds and unpredictable skies. part of me was sad to see winter end. with the night sky creeping in around 4:30 in the afternoon i felt some solace in the dark hibernation of december, january and february. now the sun doesn't set until close to eight and suddenly the world feels full of people, full of light. the part of me that loves afternoon bike rides and polaroid photo ops revels in this flood of luminosity. but another part of me just feels guilt in my desire for solitude, my want of back to back film screenings and sketching sessions in the comfort of my cave-like room. but i suppose that's what spring is all about. emergence. rebirth. the ability to fully exist and experience life.

so here i am on a sunny saturday afternoon filling myself with coffee and soymilk at milagros coffeehouse. a woman with a messy pseudo-mohawk just drove by in her suv, smoking a cigarette, and a gentle but mangy chocolate pup is wandering the sidewalks, collarless and lost. today doesn't feel any different from any other day in alamosa. beautiful, quiet, colorful and calm. with roughly only three and a half months left in the valley i am at a point where all i can do is emerge, exist and fully enjoy the time i have left in this magical place. this whole experience has been amazingly surreal, like living in a movie or a diorama built inside a blue-lined shoe box. part of me is so ready to pack up and bust out of here. the other doesn't want to ever leave for fear of forgetting everything.

with a compulsive desire to hold my memories in my hands i am embarking on a couple projects to put everything ive seen and heard into beautiful context:

1. i've begun cataloging the very best of my polaroids dating back to the fall of 2004. my plan is to compile the photos into defining categories and then arrange them in a cohesive collection in book form. the book will be a mixed-media compilation of photos, drawings, collage and text together telling the narrative of my personal experience with polaroid photograpahy.

2. i am in the beginning stages of writing a screenplay telling the story of my experience here in alamosa as well as the shared experience of being an americorps volunteer. part of these beginning stages involves me watching a lot of movies that i love to better envision how my film will share narrative tools with other films and how it will differ.

this neurotic need to document stems partly from the recent news that has rattled my vision of the future. i was accepted to san francisco state's cinema m.f.a. program and will be attending the university in august of this year. suddenly i see things only as pieces of larger narratives; images coexisting with sounds; moments of movement within human experience. the three year program will equip me with all the academic and artistic tools i need to further my existence as a storyteller and movie-lover. and on top of it all i get to live in the great city of san francisco.

i feel affirmed, excited and motivated.
nothing has ever felt so right.

for the love of color

while i will always love and appreciate the art of black and white photography i gotta say it's COLOR that really gets me jazzed. in the following photos polly captures the vibrancy of color in the dullest of places. the first is the same forgotten ford i captured with the polaroid, the second a portrait of patrick and ethan and lastly, me, emerging from a left behind trailer. i will say it is strange for me to be on the other side of the camera but that's what partnership is all about.

p.k.o.

this blog has been, for the most part, a place for me to showcase my photographs both digital and polaroid. well i finally got my hands on some of polly's prints from our adventure days during her visit. she also sent me some other photos shes taken in the great cities of new york and st.louis. i have a feeling someday soon polly and i will collaborate our creative energies in a big beautiful project. i don't know exactly how that will manifest itself quite yet but i am confident that whatever it is will be awesome.

anyway, check out these beautiful black and white's from my favorite photographer and dear dear friend. i will be posting some of her color shots as well.

the work of ms. paulette kissinger omura:

let's draw a polaroid! part duh

i've learned a lot in the past couple weeks. about myself, my journey and the road ahead. i've learned that i can't draw people to save my life, so im practicing, and trying to develop my own style. i've learned that to appreciate the freedom and solitude i currently hold i need to stop thinking about every moment ahead and enjoy the moments i have now. i've also learned that grad school is possibly the scariest thing in the world and that's okay.

i've passed the six month mark of my time here in alamosa. so far it's been a wild ride. sometimes i can't handle the small town day to day but most of the time i love it. im in the midst of figuring out what's next in my life. i've already received a rejection from berkeley. c'est la vie. while my ego is bruised i am able to see this news as a step forward. all in all my life is good and exciting and bright.

anyway, im committing myself to a completed drawing a day, just to discipline myself to practice and get better in all i do. below are some recent 'roid drawings:

may 2007. ink and prismacolor on bristol.

this isnt by any means a completed drawing but i wanted to share it because im kinda in love with this portrayal of john wayne. the polaroid sketch is kinda, sketchy. it's all about the wayne. john wayne.

the voice of la puente

i just drew the cover for the spring la puente newsletter. it didnt come out exactly how i imagined but i like it nonethelss:

let's draw a polaroid!

some saddening recent news: polaroid is discontinuing the production of polaroid cameras and a polaroid film. the products are expected to be completely unavailable by 2009. this news has left me distraught. what am i supposed to do with myself? where will i turn? who am i????
i decided the obvious first move is to gather up as much polaroid film as i can in the next year and take as many photos as i can (the shelf life of the film doesnt allow for bulking up to last a lifetime). this i will do with as much effort as possible. but another notion that struck me is the idea of giving the polaroids i have already taken new life. in the past week or so i've taken the time to draw and paint some of my favorite images of polaroids past. below are some of those creations:

last summer on my cross country trip to colorado i took this photo at an oklahoma rest stop. here i have re-drawn the image with ink and watercolor.


this is an image of my dearest paulette at the adirondack hot air balloon fest september 2005. the polaroid is drawn with ink and prismacolor alongside a collection of aspens drawn in ink.

songs for eric

i made my friend eric a mix even though he's a jerk.

check out the track listing below.

i know ive repeated songs and artists of past mixes but it is a different mix nonetheless.

want a copy? send me an email.

click on the image to read the trax.

milagros art show

tonight nora and i will be putting up artwork by la puente volunteers and staff at milagros coffeehouse. im pretty excited to be putting together this little art show. it's also given me a goal in producing my own work. knowing something is actually going to be displayed in public provides this sort of super-motivation. tomorrow night is the art opening, complete with finger foods and coffee. im pretty stoked.

the following are a few of the pieces i'll be showing at milagros:

i dont have a title for this one yet. i do know, however, that im completely in love with it. it's a really simple drawing but one that took a lot of time, no less. this is sort of my vision of the modern west. open, empty but not untouched.

untitled. ink on wood. (i found this already painted board in a pile behind the sky vue motel)

slv polaroids. mounted on wood.

tree. soldering iron on wood, found behind la puente home.

in other news, next week (feb 13-15) all la puente volunteers will be hitting the road for georgetown and denver for our winter retreat. we will be visiting other programs that deal with homelessness in various ways as well as hanging out in the city and enjoying some time away from alamosa. im pretty excited.

this is what i look like when montrose attacks me with love.

little miss slutshine

i sent a very late birthday present to ms. kitty slutshine. here it is; polaroid, ink and acrylic on wood.

for polly

the armpit hair trees were originally envisioned for ms. polly, my dear friend. i added my favorite photo of her to give it that p.k. flair. happy birthday, polly, even if im a few weeks late.

sugar

fall of my senior year i made a short video narrative about the romantic pursuits of one lovable ramona tompkins. below is a clip from the piece:

this losing (in diaries)

so i finally got digital copies of some of my work for blogging purposes. below is a piece i made spring of my first year of college. it's a short personal essay expressing my own experience with grief. let me know what you think:

armpit hair trees

armpit hair trees. ink and acrylic on canvas board.

sketches part deux

some more sketches, similar themes as before:

sketches

here are some random drawings from the sketchbook. tombstones have been a constant theme lately. let me know what you think.

the saddest unicorn

i have recently been exploring some new characters and ideas in my drawing, etc. i definitely have a lot of tweaking to do but i am really enjoying them. especially my newest friend, the saddest unicorn. he is actually a binicorn cause he has two horns. he's a social outcast and most likely a political prisoner. i'm still working on his background story . . .

stud

ironically, with all the work i've had to do on my art school application i haven't had a whole lot of time to just focus on creating more art. but here is one item i've mustered.
homoerotic cowboy with watercolor on wood.

drawings

i have been having a blast with my new prismacolor pencils. they are amazing.
lately, my favorite things to draw are trees and onions.
por ejemplo:


my favorite trees have hearts for leaves.

these onions were for my friend nora, who
recently had a birthday.

in the end

this is a birthday card i made for katie about a month ago. i just remembered i had scanned it. so here it is.