My thesis

I started my last semester at CU Denver this week. Everything has been scary and exciting at the same time. I have to come up with a proposal in the next week explaining my concept and necessary gallery schematics. It's faster than I expected.

Choosing the topic of my thesis is daunting. A lot of my colleagues want me to incorporate guinea pigs in my show. I feel like I have already accomplished this with the comic book. I need something with a serious concept.

I've been avoiding topics about being American Born Chinese in my artwork. It is a hard subject to tackle with personally, and it does not help that my art is influenced by Japanese ink drawings. The style and concept just don't connect. I'm more comfortable in incorporating the subject of anxiety in my art than my ethnic background.

A lot of ideas pop into my head when I think about the topic, so I know it's a good one. It seems many people with multiple ethnic backgrounds have problems with fitting in like I do. Not understanding the language. Neither Chinese or American. I haven't decided if I'm emotionally ready to give my all to this topic.

I always wondered why Amnesty International's Universal Declaration of Human Rights said:

Everyone has the right to a nationality.
No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

I didn't understand how someone can change their nationality. I now see nationality is based on your influences. If you feel at home with a certain culture, it's fine to become a part of it.

I guess I'll give it a shot.

2008 kick-start

Yes...that's a guinea pig buffet....

It's been pretty hectic the last couple of days, but I finally sent the portfolio to CalArts. Whoo hoo! The due date was Jan 4th (a paticularly bad time to ship things) but it made it there safe and sound.

All I have left to do is send image discs to Kansas City and USC. CalArts is the only brutal one that wants the real thing XD. I'll post my whole portfolio once the Feb 15th due date passes by. I'm a little unsure if anybody would steal anything from me. Although that would be flattering lol.

For USC, they need me to take the GRE for the MFA program. Nobody ever told me about this lol...kinda was a footnote to the whole process. Important note to anyone getting a Masters: you'll probably have to take this test even though it has math...which my degree only required one class. I'm digging up the old high school math.

Now the all important worry time about getting in. I may not get into CalArts, which is alright with me. I may not like animation...really have not had much practice with this. However, I do love to create comics. It's an unknown for what is in store for 2008.

What I do know is in 2008:

• I graduate :D
• I have my BFA thesis show...with cheese and crackers
• I have an independent study on animation. I have to make 15 sec of hand drawn goodness. The faculty will look at me in bewilderment because we have a computer animation program lol.

Things that should have happen:

• Getting my comic bookbound...I will get this done Rarrrr!

Everybody have a great 2008!