wow wow wow. The multimedia performance I saw at the SF International Film Festival last night was amazing! I mean, I don’t even know how to call this type of art… Three “Cloud Eye Control” artists from LA combined animation, experimental theater, pop music and puppetry all together, and surprised everyone by their creativity and imagination.

Out of the four performances, I liked Miwa Matreyek’s “Dreaming of Lucid Living” the most. You have to see the video of her performance. There are many other cool similar type of performance/illustration/ at her website. The other performances can be seen at the Cloud Eye Control’s website. Again, the way they merge the live action moment with animated component is fascinating. Here are some pictures of their performances.

Cole Valley Fair (formally the Heart of Cole Festival) will be back again for the sixth year on Sunday, September 21, 2008, from 10am to 5pm. (the closing time is one hour earlier than previous years.) The location is on Cole street between Carl and Grattan street, right where N judah drops you off at Carl & Cole stop. Booth space priority will be given to original artists and applicants from the neighborhood. The number of the jewelery vendors will be limited this year. Volunteers and booth-sitters are needed. Musicians from all genres and styles are welcomed to apply for one-hour performance slots. Only limited amplification is allowed.

The application form for Food / Art and Craft booth can be downloaded here. Submission deadline for is July 1st.

There is also a Cole Valley Fair poster contest. Artist are encouraged to submit their application form no later than June 6th.

Application form for musicians can be downloaded here.

Please visit cviasf.org or contact Joan Downey at colevalleyfair(at)gmail(dot)com for more information.

18th World Wide Sketchcrawl is this Saturday the 29th, the San Francisco group will meet in front of the Ghirardelli Square … by that fountain in front of Sharper Image … 11:00 am !! You don’t have to go there in order to participate. Drawing from your kitchen over a cup of coffee is totally acceptable. Either way, pray for some sunshine…

There’s a really quiet guy in my print making class whose sketch book caught everyone’s attention. He is Jesse Balmer, started drawing when he was six, and it takes him no more than 30 minutes to do some rather complicated drawings such as these ones. He literally spends every minute, no, actually second, on drawing. Geez, I don’t know if I can ever be as productive as him.

Jesse also participated in last night’s Southern Exposure’s 8th annual Monster Drawing Rally at the Verdi Club. I was there late, but saw his monster drawings on the wall with the red sold stickers on. It was a great event. Totally packed, but fun! The evening had 120 artists drawing simultaneously at four one-hour shifts. As the drawings are completed they are hung on the walls and available for purchase at $60 each. When an artwork is desired by multiple buyers, the lucky buyer is chosen through lottery.

Attention all poor artists! There’s a half-day seminar on the essentials of income tax for individual artists of all disciplines & small arts businesses, presented by California Lawyers for the Arts on March 8th, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising,55 Stockton Street, 5th Floor. Topics include record keeping, form 1040, Schedule C and self-employment schedule, deductions, hobby losses, home offices and more. Seminar fee (around 20 bucks) includes the tax workbook The Art of Deduction at no additional charge. You can download a registration form. Tax stands for: Torture Artist suX…. :))

I was daydreaming in a lazy sunny afternoon that an anonymous donor made me an overnight property owner in the neighborhood, and I would start an art club hosting drawing parties regularly. My big nice yard would be turned into “Cinéma de Cole” sometime, with friends sit around the fire watching cool art films projected onto the back wall of the house after the barbeque. I use to do that ten years ago in Switzerland with friends in warm summer evenings. But of course, my cell phone rang, and I woke up poor and starving like a real artist:)

But hey! Drawing parties aren’t impossible. As I was thinking of getting a small group of artist together for a drawing afternoon, I learned about the 18th World Wide Sketchcrawl on March 29th, 2008. It is a global drawing marathon; artists are organized in different places taking a day to journal and draw all that is around them, and share the drawings at the end of the day. The San Francisco group is still discussing the drawing location, and I will post the result here as soon as the decision is made. You may find many sketches and event photos at SketchCrawl.com and in the forums.

I will definitely join if I am not out of town that day!

I felt like an inflated beach ball after last night’s huge dinner in my Chinese friend’s house. They cooked more than we could handle, but leftovers are good, as it symbolize abundance. Rat is a good sign in Chinese horoscope, but I bet any rat in the world doesn’t get nearly as much respect as their family members in Karni Mata Temple in India. When I was there last November, I was amazed when rats were fed milk and food, and they were treated like God. Indians believe the rat houses the soul of the Goddess Karni Mata. The temple is crowded with newly weds wishing to be blessed. I paid the camera fee and walked away with tons of photos. But I decided to take my socks off before I put my shoes back on at the entrance of the temple:)

Back to the Chinese New Year. There’s a spring festival celebration at the Chinese Cultural Center in San Francisco on Feb. 23 & 24. I designed their 2008 poster, which reflects the Chinese puzzle program of the center and their upcoming exhibitions. Like it?

How’s Cole Valley? I am happy to be back after spending a month in India. It was a wonderful but a little crazy trip. Look forward to checking in with old friends in Reverie. Came home with more than 25 GB of photographs, will let you know after I finish uploading some on NianaLiu.com.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

More funny drawings here

Just came across a street art website that had a funny photo of “bird on toilet” found on Clayton Street close to where I live. There are tons of photos of other street art in San Francisco, or other cities around the world.