Happy New Year 2010 ! /
Earth never stopped spinning for me in 2009, it started with a beautiful dance with most dear friends in a chilly square in Sofia. We danced a horo and made merry. Since then 10 years worth of things happened, but even more things didn't happen and the latter turned out to be really important unhappenings. I can only say I didn't get enough of my family and dearest friends in 2009 so I'd love to have more in 2010. The other almost as important event was of course seeing Picasso's Guernica in the Reina Sofia in Madrid, in the last days of December. along with it seeing Picasso's process while developing his ideas for the giantic piece - it was as if seeing Michelangelo carving a slave or Bernini growing Daphne's marble tree. "Effortless" Guernica took an enormous amount of rejection to make the perfect composition. My quick iphone notes from that moment:
"Reina Sofia . Dali, Picasso, popova, Magritte , Dali:) the masters had impeccable sense for composition. Broad strokes, Dali's paintings are very detailed and full of wonder. And finally the guernica by picasso - picasso's fury monochromatic with perfect sense for composition, I crave to get closer . Odd looks a bit like a collage. Increddible. This has been such an intense day so far. Seeing picasso's process was a very special / guernica looks effortless but took a lot of preparation and study. In hindsight now i understand why Guernica looks like a collage - He worked on and developed parts individually. Can't get enough of Picasso... My back is killing me:) but I am still on the second floor."
Group exhibition at the Law School of the University of San Francisco /
Couple of my still life photographs were selected for the show on view Jan 8th till mid May, at University of San Francisco Law School, curated by Saiko Matsumaru. it really is appropriate to call this still life although I do not seek this genre on purpose, it rather becomes what it needs to be. Both pieces will be 30 wide x 20 inches tall. I have very few "still life" pieces but the ones I did are of special objects that carry a lot of meaning for me, almost in a karmic way. Both pieces have total of 5 objects in them but the objects cover a wide range of my experiences, and I brought the objects to my studio from distances ranging from half a mile to 6000 miles ( the tea cup ). The flowers are currently floating somewhere in the pacific ocean - I bought them at Dia De Los Muertos for my grandfather and dropped them off the Golden Gate with one of my drawings attached as a makeshift chute.
The cup always seems to strike people the most, but if it was just the cup, it would have been too mundane. The parking ticket on the other hand provides the "rage" plane that lifts the cup from the mundane and into the iconic plane. These are just some after thoughts... at the time I was mildly dismayed but much more excited about the color at play.
I was chosen for ArtSpan's Selections 2010 /
Selections 2010, ArtSpan's prestigious biennial juried exhibition will feature 20 SF Open Studios artists at California Modern Gallery, 1035 Market Street, in January. Selections 2010 will be juried by artist Ray Beldner, author and arts writer Alison Bing, and director of California Modern Gallery Inga Fischer. Exhibition Opening Reception: Thursday, January 14, 2010 (free and open to the public). Exhibition Dates: January 7 - 22, 2010. It's still very interesting to me.. when I draw and when I go around taking photographs, my body and my energy are at very different levels, I feel as if I jump to and from quantum-like states going from one activity to the other. Drawing is very still and I feel perfect calm and I understand all, and everything in the universe makes sense. When I go out with my camera it's constant excitement and fascination, as if i see things for the very first time. I marvel at very tiny details or at very big details, and I try to understand the world and steal pieces of it via the lenses.
Christmas /
I will spend Christmas in the Netherlands again, although for a very short amount of time and afterward I am heading to Madrid to study at the Prado, mostly to look at Hieronymus Bosch work, hope it's not travelling somewhere. Especially interested in The Garden of Earthly Delights, the museum site says it's in room 56, so I'll be there.
Slices of a Mountain /
Battle of Hoth /
I had a great time working on Star Wars: The force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition. The Empire Strikes Back was my favorite episode from the original trilogy and I was in my childhood heaven working on the battle of Hoth as an Environment lead of an awesome team. ATATs, Snowspeeders, X-Wings, Wampas.. the latest provided a bit of a comic relief and enormous fun to do.
Dia de Los Muertos /
"Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Meso-American holiday dedicated to the ancestors; it honors both death and the cycle of life. In Mexico, neighbors gather in local cemeteries to share food, music, and fun with their extended community, both living and departed. The celebration acknowledges that we still have a relationship with our ancestors and loved ones that have passed away. In San Francisco, Day of the Dead has been celebrated since the early 70s with art, music, performances and a walking procession, which help us contemplate our existence and mortality -- a moment to remember deceased friends and family, and our connections beyond our immediate concerns."
-I took the following photographs at the Mission district of San Francisco as well as at the Mission Cultural center, where an altar installation was held at the beginning of November. In my culture when it comes to the dearly departed it's all somber black and sometimes crying.. Here I was just hypnotized by the beauty and the exuberance... A woman who gave me sweet tea and bread told me on this day I am supposed to be happy. This is what I red afterwards and made me change my outlook entirely: "Don't just cry mournfully over the individuals, dreams and influences that have helped make you what you are. Dance for them; sing for them; honor them; leap into the air and kiss the sky for them." It was almost wonderful..
Fashion Feud /
My favorite sport is base jumping, I practice a special version of it where you have to perform some aerial acrobatics and go through a series of hoops to get the chute to open. I really enjoy this. Occasionally I look at fashion and the display of fabrics accompanied by beautiful lighting.
i am no longer dreaming - i just finished "dreams", India ink on board /
This is a drawing on paper and all the lines are hand painted. The background is not a canvas or a texture either... each line is hand drawn as well to achieve the canvas look.
Luminous Sculpture - Eric Ehlenberger's work was a lot of fun to look at and photograph ! /
- Luminous Sculptures - @ The Venusian Garden - 1286 Folsom ( at 9th )
Open Studios in SOMA /
Open Studios in SOMA - Garage Gallery /
- Garage Gallery is for real... and the space is beautiful. SAAB repair shop and used car dealer by day, a Gallery by Night and on weekends. and Where does the art end and the wall start..Curated by Susan Tuttle - way to go, Susan!
On my second visit to Alcatraz... /
I felt the oppression embeded in the walls and the pain of the inprisoned ghosts, I wouldn't say this was very attractive to me. I find it very strange this place is a tourist attraction.
Looking out of the rock and towards the beautiful city across the bay I can think of only one thing - how very priviliged we are to enjoy our freedoms and to enjoy the freedom to do the things we love.
Open Studios is over for me - I had such a blast /
The Flying Tree hangs at SomArts Gallery /
At 934 Brannan Street in San Francisco, the opening gala is tonight starting @ 6:30 pm.
For unconditional love and other things /
When someone tells you repeatedly they love you - you get used to it and when this is gone you terribly miss it. Unconditional love is a very hard thing to get over and I have been trying to come to terms with that loss this past week. I will never forget this black monday, I hope the worst is over and I can keep my head up moving forward. My grandfather Spas passed away in the morning of September 28, 2009 bulgarian time and I was absolutely powerless to do anything to be able to see him for one last time. I spent endless summers with him, family and friends and these were the happiest days of my life. Once I found out I sent heartbreaking letters to friends who knew him. This is what a friend of mine wrote back:
mirena -
so sorry to hear of the passing of dear diado spas - such a wonderful vital man full of genuine good spirit - i think he must have had a terrific life and earned a lot of good karma to have continued to enjoy everything as he did at a ripe old age - that plus eating a whole lemon every day!
you are a lucky lady to have had such a real connection to this kind of spirit - so seldom in our world today -
i am sure that his positive vitality will continue to inspire you your whole life - this is when memories can truly have meaning -
please give my condolences to nicki his daughter your dad and your whole family -
my heart is with you!
And he attached this picture from my birthday a couple of years ago - Grandpa Spas is in the middle:
