Browsing Tag

neon

Artist & Designer Features

Dream & Death Inspired Artist Sonya Fu

07/16/2015
Sonya Fu next to her work "I love" (2014) at AP Contemporary, Hong Kong

Sonya Fu next to her work “I love” (2014) at AP Contemporary, Hong Kong

Sonya Fu is an artist whose works I feel really drawn to. She has taken inspiration from her dreams visually to a place of solitude. Her work, to me, speaks of the mixture of emotions we feel in dreams and the temporary yet lasting suspension we feel in the dreamworld. Not only do they evoke these feelings in me but she is graphic designer turned artist so her works are done digitally. I think it’s important to share her amazing creations in this age where many contemplate whether digital art is a fine art while it’s so obvious that it is. Enjoy~

You can find more work and information via her Facebook page or her website~

How long have you been creating art?
I started drawing when I was 3 or 4.

What is your preferred medium?
I work mostly with digital mediums. Digital paintings in which I paint brush stroke by brush stroke using a drawing tablet.

Did it ever become your main focus and when?
It’s become my main focus in 2010. I had my first group show invitation when I was still a graphic designer at the time.

What has been your favorite exhibition or event to be involved in?
This is a tough one because I enjoyed all of them!! They are all unique and they are all special! 🙂

What inspires you most?
Dreams. My crazy, wonderful, beautiful, whimsical, disgusting, scary dreams. Also meditation, mindfulness and music.

How do you deal with artist’s block?
I doodle, meditate, look at art magazines/blogs, talk to other artists, do things that I feel good about (when I feel good inspiration flows in faster).

What has been your favorite work you’ve created?
Another tough one! They are all special to me!

Do you have any crazy stories about one of your pieces?
Yes! My work “Tender Stillness”, the giant serpent girl, I dreamed about her a few times, she hovered in the sky and raised tsunami.

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Favorites:
Color? Black
Food? Kimchi fried rice served in hot stone bowl (no meat)
Animal? ALL
Music? Space music, Ambient music, Pink Floyd, Portishead, the Silent Hill OST… the list can go and on!
Magazine? Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Hi-Fructose, Juxtapoz etc. I appreciate all art mags and art blogs, they are always so supportive of the artists.
Movie? Beetlejuice, Alien series
Book? Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul

Do you have any advice for readers interested in turning their hobby into their main focus?
Stay focused, believe in yourself, be positive and remember “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents” like Bob Ross said.

What do you feel is a recipe for success?
Believing in yourself and what you do, positive thinking, being appreciative and grateful, being a good team player, keeping your commitments, meeting deadlines, good time management, being picky about yourself and your work so you make the best out of it, welcoming and being open-minded about criticism because it helps us improve.

Are you Miseducated?
-I guess yes haha, I am both whimsical and unconventional!

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I_love_by_SonyaFu

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Crafts DIY

DIY: Neons vs Pastels » Craftspiration

04/03/2014

Because I can never decide which one is better so all of my pastel-coated paintings always have a little hot pink strewn through-out and same for my collages. Why choose one when you can have both? Have a hot pink Easter.

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Easy Neon Hanging Planters Tutorial by Brit + Co

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Candy Necklace Inspiration by Love the Day

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Chocolate Surprise Egg DIY for Easter

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Dip Dye Placemats by Design Love Fest

and lastly a breathtakingly beautiful home office and craft studio to inspire you to design your work space to fit your inspiration ala I Love Crafty:

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Design Your Life

From Man’s Land to Wonderland

01/15/2014

I love Rice DK decor, it’s no secret. I love Wu and Wu tins, Jeu de Paumes books and all the colorful and modern European designs with a flair of kitsch. I cannot get enough. My Lovely Lovely UK collection is still in wrapping because my kitchen is not yet ready for the palette nor have we finished deciding how, why and where things will be.

In this stage of our relationship I am NESTING. Nesting to the max. No I am not pregnant but I believe women are nesters in these stages anyway. Stages of the decision that this is going to be your life together, your home, your family. With that I’d like to say that men can also be nesters as my mister plans and completes renovations of spots in our home without me even implying I want him to. He also asks for my opinion and I ask for his. This is tough for 2 artists with VERY DIFFERENT art styles. I’m saying pop surrealism VS contemporary realism. Think bright color POPs vs calming earth tones.

I believe when you settle down and start a new life with someone else that you are combining your lives into one delicious (lemon poppyseed) cake. You must sacrifice yourself to become unified and to ensure both feel at home rather than one being resentful or stifled. So we begin the road to mixing the 2 styles in one big (pink) Kitchenaid mixer and set it to low speed (while I toss in sprinkles for funfetti cake). I found a few articles on the subject of collaborative design in the home with your partner but not many so I feel it’s best at this point to learn from the adventure. Please join us on our journey to create our dream home from our beautiful house (inspiration and mood boards included!) and the things I learn about designing it with mister.

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Magazine Clips Self Decoration

Japanese Magazine Clippings: Neon and Kawaii KERA

12/11/2013

In the old skool blogging days Wednesdays were MAGAZINE CLIP days because I’m always collecting them and oogling them but only share my favorite parts with you or else I’d flood the blog with them. In this KERA from the end of last year I cannot get enough of the fashion. I find that as I’ve aged now KERA is my style.. the style is dark but neon and super cute. Colorful hair, big eyelashes and perfect bangs.

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Self Decoration

Candy Lovers: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

09/24/2013

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I’ve been reminiscing a bit about one of my colorful past lives that make me a part of who I am today so I thought I’d do a little feature to take in the current and more recent rave culture in fashion. To read my old skool article about the actual culture not just related to the candy rave fashion click here. (Yes I still have a box of candy bracelets and someday I will think of a cute way to display them!)

Last night I had a dream that I lived in a speaker,
And the sky was the smoked filled room in Ibiza,
The sun was a crystal ball shining 24 hours a day,
My air was the winds of the woofers bouncing off the wall,
My soul was the spirit of all the children dancing,
My rain was the sweat that rolled of their faces,
My lightning was the strobe that filled the room like a tropical storm,
This is my world,
This is my planet,
On my planet bass was my day and kick was my night,
Rhythmatic interludes of percussion were my four seasons,
On my planet I could see constellations of children dancing,
On my planet House is the religion and God is a DJ,
On my planet there is peace,
On my planet there is love,
On my planet there are no wars or rumour of wars,
On my planet there are no drugs or politicians,
This is my world,
This is my planet,
And my planet rocks!

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Features Mood Board

Mood Board: Lock my Heart and Never Part

09/22/2013

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a Mew for Today because I really was going through a painfully overwhelming period in my life that I am slowly navigating out of. I am happier and healthier than I have ever been before and I owe it to my one true love, spirituality and sobriety. Thankfully as more time goes on I have started feeling very much inspired and overwhelmed with ideas again and I would love to share some eye candy that is oh-so-Miseducated and catching my attention on tumblr tonight…

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Artist & Designer Features

Strawberry Switchblade Sings My Soul

09/17/2013

shades

One band I cherished since a child (much like Bowie but more relatable on a sensitive and misunderstood girl level) and never outgrew is Strawberry Switchblade. I formed a cherished online friendship with Rose McDowall in the late 90s and grew to understand her in a more personal way as the creative soul she is. In grade school I created a very cute, pink and polkadot website devoted to the band visuals and audio decadence, I had musical appreciation websites for Strawberry Switchblade, No Doubt, Veruca Salt and Shampoo (my all-time favorite bands), to which I thought why not create features here as I’ve been meaning to do for years.

Rose is as magical as her music is. She and Jill Bryson wove visual gumdrops for my eyes to munch on obsessively and still inspire me heavily to this day. Miseducated’s first layout and many layouts thereafter were created while blasting Strawberry Switchblade songs over and over (and I mean OVER AND OVER). When I met my very best friend Kimi online in 1997 it was like the magical world they wove, a world of polkadots and acid-like colors dripping with cute psychedelia, came to life in our relationship. As a troubled child I often felt Kimi was the one person in the world who understood me, who would always be there (she’s still there). Our song was “Since Yesterday” by Strawberry Switchblade. When she calls even today that song rings out to let me know it’s my soul mate calling.

If you’ve never heard of Strawberry Switchblade and don’t appreciate the delicious 80s whirlwind of drum machines and their unique electronic music filled with happy, depressed, in love, best friend adoring, memory mourning troubled girl lyrics then you might not enjoy it but I honestly, yes with a big bias, cannot imagine how anyone could not want to dance, twirl in daisies and sing to their music. When I listen now it transports me back to memories from childhood, the good and bad, middle and high school filled with love, loss and raves, as well as today the love I still have for my very best friend Kimi, my cherubic three year old daughter and my boyfriend who is, at last, my love dream come true. Step back in time and many of the photos in the gallery below were posters on my wall and locker. Can you get enough?

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Many who know me well see the photos and instantly understand why I was so odd as a child (or even as an adult!) with my polkadot dresses and big, offensive, neon bows. I stood out like a miniature pop star in a small town school and many thought it was hilarious at my expense. I still get it to this day if I visit the town, people look at me like I’m an obviously lost alien. Hell it even happens in the city I reside in occasionally, I only seem to not be an eye sore in southern California on my many summer visits to stay with Kimi and in Tokyo, Japan of course.. but never really here, and so I know Strawberry Switchblade is singing my woes in a way that I will always understand. When you find a band like that you rarely let them go, who would want to? I’m still ready to dive into their “Deep Water” and never return.

Artist & Designer Features Design Your Life

Step into StoopidGerl’s Delicious World of Wonder

07/10/2013

Bang Bang

Kim (aka StoopidGerl) is one of my closest online friends. We are both colorful artists that had adorable baby girls very close in time to each other, her Chloe Pearl was born several months before Colette Fawn and we learned a lot from each other along the way. Our pasts share many similarities as well so it’s no wonder that we hit it off immediately once upon a time. I’ve been planning a feature on Kim and her amazing creations and splendid aesthetic for WAY TOO LONG and here it is!

So as you’ve probably noticed I’ve been featuring a lot of my favorite artists and handmade mavens. I feel Kim (stoopidgerl) fits with the Miseducated way of life as much as anyone I know, her work reminds me what earth would look like if many of our rainbow-obsessed, candy-coated brains puked all over the place. Her style is no ones but her own and if you look into her world you’ll never want to leave. Please visit her gorgeously kitschy shop to purchase any of her works of art.

How long have you been crafting your world (your intoxicating-eye-candy photos and dazzlingly-saturated-with-color pieces of jewelry)?
I got started a few years ago. Working from home has been a dream come true!

When did you decide to turn that hobby into a business?
After I graduated from school I somehow ended up working a super crappy job at a Sears Portrait Studio. Going to work there made me want to kill myself! It was HELL on earth. I got pretty fed up with it and ended up quitting one day. I needed something to do and I needed money. I had been selling on Etsy for awhile and then I decided to take the plunge and try to do it for a living. I don’t know how it happened but it was magical! My shop took off quite quickly. I really love what I do and I think that is the key to my success!

All of us reach creativity blocks at some time.. where do you find inspiration when you reach a block?
The nearest candy shop~!

A lot of my inspiration comes from the past… movies I’ve seen, people I used to hang with, places I visited, my childhood…

Sometimes I find that browsing Flickr is inspirational. I love to just get lost in Flickr. I could spend hours browsing photos and adding them to my faves! There is some phenomenal shit out there!

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry that you have made?
Oh my goodness it is hard to pick just one but if I had to choose my absolute favorite I would go with this~
Rainbow Bright Heart
It is impossible to be in a crappy mood when you surround yourself with so much color. This necklace is a sure pick-me-up when you need one!

Do you have any exciting stories about the purchase of one of your pieces?
I shit myself with glee when Courtney Love purchased a necklace from my shop several years ago.

Miss World - HOLE resin necklace

What inspires you when decorating your space?
…the pursuit of happiness! I love all things that are sweet, rainbowy, clownlike, kitschy, and cool.

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What sort of things are must haves on display in your home?
I have been a collector of cameras ever since I went to school. I took a short break from collecting for awhile and recently got back into it. I have a neat little collection of minty green vintage cameras that sits on a shelf in our living room.

all here

I also have to have clowns… lots of clowns.

Do you have any tips for readers trying to design their world?
Don’t worry about sticking with any sort of theme… just go with the flow and hoard all the things you love!

Eat Cake

You can purchase Kim/StoopidGerl’s amazing creations at her rad Etsy Store.

Visual Splendor

Geometric Collages, Crystals and Neon Tribal Art

02/03/2013

You might have noticed some familiar yet new styles being tossed around while we continue to be inspired by the aesthetics of the 1980s in all areas of art and design. A few of my current visual obsessions are geometric collages, all forms of crystal shards and neon tribal art. The use of triangles, prisms and neon color addictively draws me in like no other. It’s almost like my brain has been carefully drained and the contents put on display for my complete decadent delight. The use of these styles in design both with artwork and with jewelry/fashion is a delightful rainbow of eye candy, a complete visual orgasmic experience that I find I urn for again and again. I never tire of watching previous styles of expression become revamped and recreated by contemporary artists and designers. Thus, I decided to feature some of their works and designs and my own prints have finally been being re-added to our shop.

I suppose my obsession with neon light, color transitions and geometric collage dates back to my 80s childhood. I’ve had a lifelong obsession with crystals and as a young child I often carefully selected and cleansed my own crystals mainly for visual enjoyment and perhaps also a bit of the health, energetic and spiritual benefits they provide. The current interest designers have with crystals and working them into their jewelry and artwork is exciting for me to say the least. I’ve gotten quite an impressive new collection of crystal jewelry that would have put my former youthful self at shame. I’ve even been both cleansing and moon soaking crystals that will soon be for sale in our shop as pretty pendants for you to adore. So let’s step back to take in the clusters of deliciousness and enjoy the visual adventure that our eyes and spirits are able to enjoy.

Emily Hoy

Kris Tate

Nutcase Fashion

Angel Aura Quartz

Angel Aura Quartz is quartz that is permanently treated by fusing platinum and/or silver crystals with heat and vacuum to give it its gorgeous angelic coloring. Mystical lore counts it a stone of high spiritual energy. It is said that it is very helpful to the aura which it can protect, balance, cleanse and bring an energetic health. Angel Aura Quartz Crystals act to stimulate and clear all of the Chakra Energy Centers.

Intuitive sources say Angel Aura Quartz helps bring one into the higher realms in meditation, facilitating conscious contact with angels, spirit guides and inner realm teachers. It is said to assist one in communing with Angels, accessing the Akashic records, channeling higher knowledge, remembering past lives and gaining insight into one’s spiritual mission in this lifetime. ~ Celestial Lights

Visual Splendor

Getting Ready for a Lookbook Photoshoot

10/07/2011

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sea of sugar


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Cupcakes? Check!
Kitschy Animals? Check!
Sugar Junkie, Miseducated and Siren London? Check!

I can’t wait! Jamie and I have each been collecting cute stuff for this like little hoarders for years. It’s been a long time coming! I can’t wait to show you the photos when we get them finished. I’ve needed a lookbook for so long. Too bad I recently even sent off a bunch of my jewelry for another artist’s lookbook shoot so I only have a few items for ours. Boo! And if you have or haven’t seen Jamie’s stuff yet let me tell you it’s an absolute treat. I can’t get enough of her work.

Because I am so impatient for material I practiced a little bit of movie editing and made a test commercial (ha ha ha)…

I was smoking hookah after a long day at the zoo. My mother-in-law invited us to go — it was yet another beautiful day. I got some good photos and videos of Coco being enamored by the animals. She doesn’t really talk around other people though so she doesn’t talk much in them. When we’re at home she tries to mimic every word we say, tells us stories and sings us songs. She’s shy! So cute.