long update...

It's been a while since I touched this blog! What have I been up to? ho mang...

I recently made a textbook ("Mindy in the Ocean") for an art school. I'm grateful for the opportunity they gave me and my dream of creating a children's book came true! :) I plan on making more children's books in the future...

I attended Barron Storey's exhibit at Anno Domini and got the chance to chat with him a bit and get his autograph! He's very kind and inspiring. Loved his exhibit- it was quite moving for me.

I've been attending a lot of concerts with my lovely boyfriend and travelling to a bunch of places with him. We went to Florida (5 days), Vietnam (~1 month), Cambodia (4 days), and South Korea (1 week) together! It's been 10 years since I've traveled to Korea or overseas. I had an amazing time experiencing the different cultures and eating ALL THE FOODS. In Vietnam, I got to drive a motorcycle for the first time, go to night markets, visit the Cu Chi tunnels, went to a beach and ate a bunch of crab and shrimp with my boyfriend's family, and visit a King's Memorial. In Cambodia, I got to ride tuktuks, visit Angkor Wat, visit the King's palace, check out Pub Street, and visit a lake village. I even got to eat fried spiders in Cambodia! They actually taste pretty good. Spider heads and legs taste like crab while their bodies taste like lobster. The main part of the trip was attending my boyfriend's grandmother's memorial and his cousin's wedding. The memorial was pleasant because I got to meet my boyfriend's relatives and eat lots of good food. The wedding was so beautiful that I got a bit teary-eyed. I've never seen a Vietnamese wedding before, so it was nice to see what the tea ceremony looked like. My favorite moments on this trip was visiting Angkor Wat, admiring the art and architecture, and walking around exploring Vietnam (and the scooter rides!).

Mouse!

BANH XEO FEAST!

first time riding a motorcycle

this time on a Yamaha

This is Edward the iguana. I almost kept him as a pet. :P

We got to see The Cribs at Cargo Bar!

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

seasoned fried spiders om nom noms

In Korea, I got to visit my brother, relatives, and friends. It's been so long since I've seen them- I had a lovely time eating out with them and sharing funny stories. I hope to see them again real soon. I love you guys! ♥ I visited the National Museum of Korea, the NoRyangJin fish market, Bongeunsa temple, and the Seoul Lantern Festival. I FINALLY GOT TO EAT LIVE OCTOPUS! I frikkin' love fresh seafood! om nom nom nom nom... Man... I ate so much food... :I I'm ridiculously grateful for this Asia trip and I hope to travel again soon! Thanks for all the amazing experiences! I feel like I can't write them all down since so much happened!

Bongeunsa temple

eating live octopus at No Ryang Jin fish market

Seoul Lantern Festival!

My birthday passed recently and I got to spend it in Korea! It was the sweetest birthday ever spending it with my boyfriend, brother, aunts, uncles, cousin, and friends. It felt so surreal since I haven't seen them in so long. I also got a nice surprise when I returned home!

My best friend was able to meet my favorite artist, David Choe, and get his autograph for me! Thanks so much, Tafni! You're so frikkin' awesome and I love it! ♥

Another artist I like, Joe To, drew me this adorable whale drawing too! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!

I still can't believe so much has happened. It all happened so fast... Again, thanks for all the amazing experiences! Now I have lots of stuff to do... UNTIL THEN...!

Art of Zine 2013

5.03.2013

Teef Gremlins in PILLS/SKILLS/LOVING KINDNESS & Paper Planes is a very special zine to me... In short, it pretty much was a way for me to art vent and give my close friends a shout out. ♥
Teef Gremlins are real simple to draw and you can scribble out your stresses by drawing them.
Here are a couple of photos of the first paper planes and Teef Gremlins...

Special thanks to Yumico for giving a copy to Anno Domini Gallery and selling them for Art of Zine 2013! I never thought I'd contribute anything to my favorite gallery. The experience was pretty surreal. I guess I'm just a really sensitive person. I never felt so ridiculously nervous when I saw strangers reading my zine. I hope they enjoyed it. All the zines were so unique and I loved reading through them. My favorites were Save the Desert Tortoise by Heather Enders and a frog zine by Sanaa Khan.

If anyone's interested in a zine trade, please e-mail me at thisishaetae@gmail.com or you can purchase one from me for $4.

Jan-April review

I keep meaning to update this blog, but I end up making posts on Facebook and Tumblr instead. Well here's a review of the stuff I did for the past months...

 Why Must I Be Careful? (1.04.2013 - pencil & watercolor)
My first painting of the year.
The markings on the woman’s body is the charm/talisman for "good luck".

Boo/부 (1.29.2013 - marker & sharpie)
I colored/drew on my very first Mini Kracka Munny figure!
This is Boo. His name is short for boo juk (부적). He’s a 부적 도깨비 (boo juk dokkebi)- an “amulet goblin”. I tried to make him look like amulets/charms from Asian temples for good luck/etc. since they’re usually yellow paper with red markings. Boo’s face was inspired by a dokkebi motif, the amulet on the front is for “good health”, the amulet on the back is for “good luck”, and the markings on his arms were inspired by a scarification by Micael Faccio.
[more...]

Goch the Whale @ KALEID Gallery's TWO BUCK Tuesday (2.19.2013)
This was my first time at TWO BUCK Tuesday and my second time selling Goch the Whale stuff in person! I got to sell some stickers, zines, and pins! It was ridiculously fun and it was amazing meeting everyone. Everyone was so kind and encouraging. I did some art trades with a couple of local artists, which was really amusing. I can't wait to participate again and thanks for all the support! :)

Uni(versus) (3.26.2013 - acrylic & sharpie on wood)
Art venting. It's been a while since I last painted on wood.
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TOKiMONSTA & MNDR @ DNA Lounge [San Francisco, CA] (4.10.2013)
I got the chance to see TOKiMONSTA a second time! I'm pretty obsessed with her new song with MNDR, Go With It. I had an amazing time dancing it all out and almost killed my eardrums. kekeke After the live, I was able to meet TOKiMONSTA and MNDR and give them a couple of small Goch the Whale gifts. :) gah... the fangirl in me...

Sorry for the bad quality!

Thanks for the fun times, universe!

Happy 2013!

Happy new year!

Yesterday, I attended CUDDLEFEST at Dana Street Roasting Company in Mountain View with a group of friends. I got to dance with DJ COCO in between the bands' performances! Unfortunately, I came a little late to the venue and had to leave early, but I enjoyed all the bands I saw. I really liked Kill the Bats, Yulia, Slime Girls, San Francesca, and Leer! Great job, everyone! I look forward to seeing you all perform again in the near future!

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I made some KungFu Tacos animated gifs! Enjoy the taco butt, taco scream, taco nose picker, and taco sauce!

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I made an animated gif to start the new year! I drew the girl but got the space photos from Google Images. Sorry for not crediting all the photos properly.... there were too many.

Dumb & GNARBOOTS

Merry belated Christmas!

December 15th, 2012
After I checked out Aaron De La Cruz's art gallery at Cukui (love his artwork! check out his stuff: http://www.aarondelacruz.com/ ), I had a ridiculous moment bumping into Dumbfoundead and Orly (owner of Cukui)! Special thanks to Danny! :) I was able to share my Monsta Goch the Whale stickers with them and Danny took a photo with Dumb and me! I was overjoyed with sharing my art with them and to see Dumb again! Thanks again!

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For the past couple of weeks, I worked on a short animation for the band, GNARBOOTS. I fell in love with their song, KungFu Tacos, I just had to make a video for it.

♫ GNARBOOTS - KungFu Tacos ♫

This “animation” took a lot longer than it should have (Adobe Photoshop 7.0 & Windows Movie Maker)… but I’m glad I finally finished it! Taco butt. థ౪థ

GNARBOOTS
http://facebook.com/GNARBOOTS
http://gnarbootsrock.blogspot.com
http://gnarboots-slogans.bandcamp.com/track/kungfu-tacos

I said I'd make another post about my gallery pieces, but I decided to post them on my art portfolio website instead. You can check them out here: http://www.thisisht.com/

I'm still contemplating on making a post about my zine, Han. I like keeping that one on the downlow for some reason... Maybe next time!

I finally got an official domain for Goch the Whale! Please check it out: http://www.gochthewhale.com/
I haven't been selling anything these days, but I've been sending mini gift packages to friends and artists!
If you ask nicely, I might send you one! ;) I'm open for art and sticker trades! ♥

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NOVEMBER 2, 2012
Earlier this month, David Choe did a crazy reddit session with his fans. I luckily got the opportunity to ask him a question and he answered it!

What’s it like/how does it feel sharing the world YOUR world- to have your art come to life?

 his video response: (WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE)

"It feels good to share my world with you guys. And it feels good to have the love that I do with you guys. And you know, that's what keeps me going. You guys give me good energy and I don't want to kill myself and I keep making stuff."

That made my day. :)

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NOVEMBER 23, 2012
Thomas Ramon, DJ DSTRUKT, & KERO ONE @ 55 South [San Jose, CA]

I went to 55 South with my friend DEMICHILD to see the DJs perform!
The bar itself is real chill and classy, though I felt a little out of place with my casual attire.
The DJs played a great set of underground hip hop music and the atmosphere was so relaxing.
I had the opportunity to meet Kero One and Gyrefunk again! Special thanks to Dan for that! I even got to give them my Goch the Whale stickers- Gyrefunk shared me some of his stickers too!
Overall, a great night!

me, Kero One, & Gyrefunk!

Gyrefunk stickers!

O yeah- I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

RECAP of my first solo gallery!

9.14.2012 THIS.IS.HAETAE gallery opening night / Halmoni Art Party/Art Market

I was ridiculously nervous and excited on the night of Halmoni Vintage's Art Party. According to my best friend, Tiffany, I was shaking for a good majority of the night. I didn't know what to expect and I wasn't sure if people would enjoy my artwork (a lot of people have told me that my artwork gives off a negative vibe...). In the end, everything fell into place- I had such a wonderful night! My artwork will remain in the store until October 10th!

When Tiffany and I got to Halmoni, we bumped into Bob (Boboso) & Yumico (DJ Coco). We helped them set up and soon more and more people showed up at the Art Party! Everything felt so surreal and too-good-to-be-true. Halmoni is such an adorable shop. Natasha is one of the nicest and coolest shop owners ever. My best friend was at my side supporting me. My friend was DJ-ing at my first gallery. My date looked lovely as ever! A lot of my friends showed up! DAVE YOUNG KIM stopped by! Strangers have talked to me about my artwork & bought a few things. I raised $70 that night. Everything went so well and I can't thank everyone enough!

k... let me try to organize my thoughts a little more... haha

Natasha is such an amazing shop owner! She has been very kind and helpful with me and my gallery! I feel very fortunate to have my first gallery held at her shop. My unnie! ♥ Please support and visit her ADORABLE shop!

DJ Coco was AWESOME. She played some Katamari Damacy music, the Sailor Moon theme song (Japanese version), some Nujabes, JUDY AND MARY, and Korea Girl! IT WAS PERFECT. There was some dancing and I think everyone enjoyed the fun music atmosphere. :) huhu I did! I ♥ DJ COCO!

The vendors at the Art Party/Art Market had a lot of cool things to sell! I plan on e-mailing them soon- they were all so nice!

Lyia and Johnathen were the first (of my friends) to come. Then Tuan, Yinka, Albert, Kyle, Katherine, Jackie, Henry, and my church friends! Katherine was my LOVELY date. She looked GORGEOUS. I also received many kisses on the cheek from Katherine, Lyia, ...and Johnathen. Johnathen wore red lipstick JUST so he could kiss me on the cheek. My cheeks were covered in red! bwahahaha... I love you guys so much. Dave Young Kim came too! I haven't seen him since that one Asian American conference I attended a few years ago. We've been keeping in touch through e-mails so it was really awesome seeing him. He's such a great artist! I felt real honored that he came by to see my work!

NO SUCH THING AS TOO MANY KISSES?!

back: Johnathen, Katherine, Tiffany, Dave Young Kim, DJ COCO, & Bob - I'm kissing Johnathen's adorable mini spray can

I sold two paintings that night! ("Holding On" & "Mute My Heartbeat") I was really touched when the people who bought them told me they could relate to them. :) A couple of people liked my zine, "Han", as well!

I cried a lot at the event... Just seeing my friends and complete strangers buying my artwork was so overwhelming for me. I dreamed of having my own gallery, but I was always too scared to do it and... I finally did it. If it weren't for Tiffany encouraging me to try out Halmoni's gallery, I wouldn't have done it. ever. Thank you, Tiffany, for being such a supportive friend. If you weren't there that night, I probably would have lost all composure or something... haha. Lots of love!

close-up on some of my paintings - my bad... the bottom left painting was upside-down! luckily, i fixed it in the middle of the event haha...

Goch the Whale!

My regret... I didn't take enough pictures. I was just so nervous, excited, and couldn't focus... REGRET. O well... I HAVE AMAZING MEMORIES.

I posted a Facebook status about the event and DAVID CHOE liked my status (if you haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of his work). I almost died. I don't deny my fangirlism.

Tiffany and Yumico are so sweet! They gave me congratulations gifts! Tiffany gave me a "mini Kracka", a Sailor Moon folder, a cute whale folder, and an awesome robot sticker! Yumico gave me David Choe's Munko shirt from Anno Domini! (I'm a huge Sailor Moon & David Choe fan... I also love robots.) Thank you thank you THANK YOU!

I think that's about most of what happened... I can't remember anything else at the moment... Me and my bad memory...

I'm gonna say this for the 1000000th time...
I'm ridiculously thankful and grateful for everyone who came and supported me. I can't thank you all enough and I love you guys so much. If I could, I'd give all of you drawings/paintings/stickers (& alcohol) hahaha.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE ♥

What did I learn from this amazing experience?
- I am blessed with amazing friends!
- There are people out there who like my artwork.
- There are more people out there I need to meet. / I need to see the world.
- I need to stop being so nervous & calm down.
- I need to stop limiting myself and give myself bigger goals.

I've been asked if I will do another gallery any time soon... I don't think I will at the moment... If I do, I'd like to do bigger pieces next time (which will take more time)... So we'll see. :)

I shall make another post about my gallery pieces soon!