One Month of Drawing

IMG_1036

I did it. I sketched 31 things in 31 days, doing sketches daily (for the most part) during March as part of Articulations Filler Up sketchbook challenge. While not all of the drawings were particularly great it taught me many things:

  • Not to be so self-critical. The reason I used to not draw much was because often I would trash everything I started because I didn’t like it. I also erased often leading to many unfinished works. Having to finish many in a short time left me less time to be critical
  • You can make art with anything. Living the example of my grandfather who made art on literally anything I also didn’t limit myself. Some days I drew with fancy pencils, other days ball-poit pens or lead pencils
  • Making time. My excuse for not drawing (or any other thing for that matter) was that I didn’t have enough time. Time is always available if I make an effort to try to set some aside.
  • Ideas come from anything. Don’t know what do draw? Draw the glass you are drinking out of, the beer you’re drinking. Literally anything is a subject.

What I Saw During Earth Hour 2015

earthhour

Last night the annual Earth Hour took place from 8:30-9:30 encouraging people around the world to turn off their lights and devices for an hour. I decided to turn off all the lights and go for a walk.

Originally, I planned to take photos of my journey with my new gear. I packed it with me and decided it would be exempt from the “no devices during earth hour” thing. However, I realized that it wasn’t a good idea to be flashing expensive equipment around on a particularly dark night (since i was walking alone). Instead, I took a mental note of the things I saw and when I got home immediately jotted them down in a notebook.

I had not taken many walks at night in my neighbourhood, but I discovered so many things:
– There’ s a coffee shop that also fixes guitars
– There are many places opened later than I thought, and are very lively
– a giant walnut in front of a nut store
– very creepy mannequins in some store windows
– a space-themed cafe
– many out of place phonebooths
– places that are beautiful to look at but I have no idea what they sell
– antique shops (tons of them)
– the fortune teller is very popular
– many popular places that don’t seem to have names
– people wondering where the ATMS are

It’s amazing how many things can go unnoticed. I definitely have to venture into some of the places sometime!

What Do People Do With Each Other Between Meals?

Brunch at the Beverley Hotel
Brunch at the Beverley Hotel

Ever since transitioning into adulthood – the strange world after univeristy/college – my social life has noticeably changed. People have become busier because of their careers or because they have started families. The only times I’ve hung out with people are at concerts (but those are a different kind of people) or while having a meal.

It’s like I don’t know what to do with people if we are not eating (or having the drink which I put under the same category). I don’t think it’s entirely my fault either. I think meal plans are more concrete, everybody has to eat and they can easily be booked in your calendar. Want to meet me at the restaurant for 6pm? sounds like a better plan that Want to come over and play board games? One sounds a lot easier to cancel than the other. Plus, who knows if the other person wants to play games with you, but again.. everybody has to eat.

Food also helps with any awkward silences. You can have the excuse “too busy eating to talk”. Also when it’s over, you are not obligated to continue the night. This is different when you invite someone over to your house and you want to go to bed but you still have to kick the person out.

I seriously don’t know what adults do with each other between meals. I can amuse myself fine: with blogging, cleaning, art and various hobbies but it’s hard to invite someone else into those situations (unless hey, you really want to help me clean my apartment).

What do you do with your friends?

Pages From My Sketchbook Pt. 3

We’re nearing the end of March and I have some catch up to do in terms of filling up my sketchbook in time for the challenge but here are a few more random pages:

IMG_1005

IMG_1006

IMG_1008

IMG_1009

IMG_1010

IMG_1012

My Life is a TV Sitcom

retrotv

Do you ever feel like you are the embarrassing character in a sitcom? There are times where I feel like I am such a clutz that everything bad or terrible always happens to me. Sometimes at the same time. I can never seem to catch a break.

I was having such a great weekend and then I dropped my external hard drive. Thankfully it still works. Then I lost my Metropass somehow. My Monday is off to a great start.

Sometimes these things would send me into a downward spiral . It’s hard not to want to cry, and sometimes that’s okay.  But really whenever bad things happen, I think about times where I have had it worse. When there was a fire on the subway and it is delayed followed by buses that couldn’t make it up the hill because of a storm. The time I was cleaning the house and then tripped over the broomstick and hit my head on the counter. A slip and fall on ice that scraped my knee, another in front of a packed bus.

Somehow thinking of myself like a weird character in my own life story makes me feel a little bit better. I can laugh it off and know that I’ll live to tell another episode.

JUNOS Weekend Through Instagram

View this post on Instagram

I'm an alien #JUNOS

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on

I’ve been busy this past while with JUNOS and post-JUNOS stuff. I thought I’d take you through some of those adventures through Instagram. It was my first time covering JUNO weekend. It just never worked out logistically in the past. When I went to get my ID made, they turned me blue!

On Friday, SOCAN had their Friends & Family party. My publicist friends decided it would be fun to switch places and for once they’d be the photographers.

View this post on Instagram

.@tremission #junos

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on

Then I went to a hiphop show at a venue by the lake. It was kind of like Hamilton’s version of Sound Academy.

We stayed up until 2am waiting for Saukrates (one of my co-worker’s favourites) to go on.

On Saturday we woke up early and had brunch at Jack & Lois.

After brunch we interviewed Jenn Grant, who is the most awesome in person.

The TD Lounge were supporting local Hamilton schools and I saw these adorable kids play!

I almost didn’t get into this Rich Aucoin show (he owns every city he is in) but I waited patiently in line and the bouncer let me in. I ended up leaving a whole bunch of confetti in my co-worker’s car.

View this post on Instagram

At the #junos songwriter circle!

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on

On Sunday Morning, I attended the JUNOS songwriter circle where songwriters shared stories before performing acoustic versions of their songs.

Backstage of the JUNOS gala, I sat beside my friend Sarah and dropped her piece of complimentary cake. Oops!

Life is interesting sometimes and Instagram is such a great way to relive it!

Page From My Sketchbook Pt. 2

IMG_0953
I’ve been busy this month but I’ve been keeping up with my Sketchbook challenge this month! I plan to have 31 drawings in my book by the time the month is over. Here are a few of my favourites since the last post:
IMG_0952
IMG_0954
IMG_0955

Recently Used Emoticons

IMG_0868In the age of technology, emoticons are just as important in conveying a message as words. I decided to share my most recently used ones. They generally also reflect my most popular ones.

They seem to reflect my personality quite a bit as well as current events.  I like food (which explains the pizza, burger, chocolate and bread) and I am a happy and excited person (face and hand signs). It also looks like I was wishing people a Happy Chinese New Year illustrated by the goat and celebratory things beside it. I’m also a person not afraid to be a little inappropriate (poop, and air poof representing fart).

What are your most recently used emoticons? And what do they say about your surrounding life? I’d love to know!

The 10,000 Things I Do Regularly

I wish I had time to lie around like these guys!
I wish I had time to lie around like these guys!

I am having a crazy weekend running around in Hamilton for the JUNOS. It’s a busy weekend but I’m hardly evernot busy. For example here are the 10,000 things I do on a regular basis:

– I work a 9-5 job
– I run Ride the Tempo (which itself involves 10,000 mini things)
– I blog here every day
– I go to a show
– I eat at a fancy restaurant
– I vlog
– I run many tumblr accounts
– I photograph things and then edit those photographs
– I draw/do art
– I try new recipes
– I clean the apartment
– I take care of my pet turtles
– I read a book
– I play video games
– I spend time with my boyfriend
– I teach kids how to play piano
– I see my dog
– I play with make up
– I shop online
– I watch Netflix
– I catch up on the internet
– I keep all my social media accounts updated

Some of those seem like rather regular things. But if you fit them all into one week, it would be one hell of a week. And that is basically my life.