Tulip Exhibit Reception Recap
I really love this photo by my friend Mike! @photos_by_perkins
The most important part of my speech, as recorded by my friend KB.
I was feeling very anxious about the reception, but now that it was a success and it’s over, I am relieved.
Shoutouts
The Atrium 916 staff are absolutely incredible. They made this process so easy and approachable for me. They did press releases, posted to event sites, helped me put up my work, and they handle all my sales! Huge shoutout to Laurel, along with Aundria and Alyssa! Another huge shoutout to Shira, the CEO, who took excellent photos but made it seem so easy and non-intrusive. I’m really impressed!
Laurie, my old studio mate who encouraged me to apply to sell my work at Atrium 916.
My parents for always being supportive of my dramatic whims, and also for driving up and bringing additional baked goods (thanks, mum).
Literally all of my friends. The ones who drove really far, the ones who brought their friends and families, the ones who couldn’t make it, the ones who support me from afar, the ones who help me keep doing art, etc.
The strangers who connected with my work, especially the ones who purchased my work! I didn’t get to connect with all of them in the ways that I would’ve liked (haha social awkwardness), but if you see this I would love to hear more about how you connect with my work and where you’re at in life!
The Globs, a local punk band whose music I love not just because I know some of the people in the band but their music is actually sooo good, so upbeat in sound and so depressing in lyrics. I feel that the whole album matches the vibe of what I’m going for in my Tulip series and so I put it on my reception playlist lol My next personal project is to make a fan music video for one of their songs with puppets!
Moments
A friend from high school asked his old coworker if he wanted to go. Turns out that coworker was one of my residents when I was a resident advisor in college. Small world!
Open that donut shop! 🍩
Another friend asked me a really interesting question, something like, “Do you feel like you’ve bookended your Tulip series?” I’ve worked hard towards the goal of building up a body of Tulip-specific work to exhibit. Now that I’ve achieved that goal, I’d love to move to the next level of developing a more coherent narrative in the form of comics, paintings as comics, zines, and mayhaps children's books. I’d also love to push myself more towards experimenting with less environmentally destructive materials (aka away from store-bought canvases and acrylics).
Share your music! 🎵
Another friend had an idea that I’m a little obsessed with now: If the life forms we know today are evolved from a shared and more basic genetic sequence, then it can happen again. Massive extinction events have occurred several times over, and new species have gone through the “life” cycle of evolving, thriving, and becoming extinct or evolving into something else entirely.
In the universe of Tulip where humans have caused their own extinction and the evolution of new genetic species that can survive in a polluted world, as well as our current real-world universe… will future species be able to learn from our mistakes? Or will history continue to repeat? Or is history supposed to repeat as part of the natural life cycle of the planet as an occasionally unstable ecosystem? Is it all a slow, iterative progression? If all life forms are kin… something something pun on continuation but kin-tinuation…
I gotta keep reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future!
I invented art!
Toast is wheat!
Another friend’s kid talked my ear off about Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and turns out she is literaaaalllyyyyy an aspiring tiny villain haha
I don’t usually enjoy the art of creation - it’s mostly suffering. But the end product is usually worthwhile.
I relate to all three characters (Tulip / peace, Tu Zi the bunny / anger, and the newest addition of Toast / depression and inaction), but I feel mostly that I have moved from inaction/anger to peace in the last few years (thanks, therapy!). I am now trying to move from peace for the self towards peace for the community through action.
In general, it was so good to connect with friends and acquaintances I hadn’t seen in such a long time. I am serious (seriously mental?) when I say that I frequently think about hanging out, and because of the mental energy I spend on literally envisioning the scenarios, I feel like I’ve done it, and then I don’t reach out lmao.
In this first year of getting off social media, I’ve been hanging out with friends more, doing art, and working towards deepening my social connections. I’m looking forward to year two, which hopefully includes slowly expanding the sphere of people I hang out with! I am really interested in the concept of micro-dosing social situations lol
Gallery Highlights
Speech speech speech
Remaining pieces can be purchased and picked up locally in Sacramento here.