The Infamous PIGMINT ART Blog That Is Just So Pigminty FRESH!

my all-encompassing, super-exciting art/photo blog.

(c)2005-2008 Vanissa W. Chan, all rights reserved.

Monday, October 31, 2005


headaches.

i've been getting these episodic headaches lately..i wonder if they're migraines. they're subtle in pain, but somehow it spreads through my entire body and i pretty much feel like crap. i'm trying to figure out if it is due to a lack of sleep, or something in my diet....i'm not sure.

maybe i'm not drinking enough water.

well, with that, my bad sleeping schedule, my addiction to myspace, and my ridiculously unproductive rut i've been in lately due to personal issues in my life...RAAAHHHHH!!!! my life will NEVER BE DRAMALESS and it is SO ANNOYING.

i'm learning a lot of new traffic laws here in the big apple. and to be honest, they all quite suck. i don't think i've ever despised driving anywhere as much as i despise driving here. i would even endure hours of Northern Virginia traffic -- and the drivers there are unGodly.

my car has become quite a burden and i really thought i would have sold it by now. but i am also sentimentally attached to my little chino....he is, afterall, my home when i am not under a roof. i don't want it to be the end between us....i just love him so so so so much...

halloween today was all right. i was disappointed, actually, in the lack of enthusiasm by the people at work. HALLOWEEN IS A CHANCE TO BE WHOEVER YOU WANT TO BE, NO MATTER HOW WEIRD, GROTESQUE, or EXTREME!!!! it is a free ticket to be a complete freak in every setting!!! what could be better??!! i was not around the right crowd today, but then again, i was at work. and i have to work really early tomorrow, so going out tonight was out of the question. which ... breaks my little asian commie heart.

which brings me to a new pact to myself: i will have a BLASTING halloween next year. no matter where i am, i'm going to go all out with the fake blood, the eye make up, the costume...EVERYTHING..it's going to rock and i'm going to be with a fitting crowd, too.

my 25th birthday is in ONE week. just in time for my car insurance to go down. and now i am on the brink of being carless. isn't that classic? classic vanissa luck.

artistically i've been in a rut. i think i have too many personal issues going on and my outlet lately has been running on the treadmill and pumping iron. this week i'm on a search for a drawing spot. that and cleaning out the apartment. a close friend of mine is coming up for my birthday weekend.....i hope things will be good. i usually am a depressing mess on my birthday. last year i got a parking ticket, AND i got pulled over, and the cop was a complete dick. i also had to work, and i cried my eyes out.

*sigh*

enough. i must sleep.

Sunday, October 30, 2005


pumpkins taste good.


has anyone ever tried pumpkin icecream? it's AWESOME...i have yet to find some, but when i do, i'll be digging into that.

so i've been literally *missing in action* because i've been working full time and i hardly have any time to draw, at all. :( the good thing is, i'm concentrating on working out which is sooo sooo nice because i haven't really been on a consistent regimen in a long time, and i was beginning to feel the bad effects of partying too much, staying up and out late, and not working out on a regular basis.

so...with working full time, focusing on a new gym routine, getting used to riding the trains, and falling miserably deeper into a financial hole, i haven't had much time to work on any of my illustrative projects..which is my FOCUS for this week.

i talked to an artist friend of mine who is in blacksburg tonight and he reminded me of how much i missed the small town atmosphere of some of the cafes there like bollo's, and i realized that what i really need now is a good cafe where i can plant myself down for a few hours and draw in peace and quiet.

i think there is a good cafe nearby my work in downtown brooklyn, so that's my goal of this week.

i would blog more, but i'm tired and i need sleep, and my body has been battling germs, and serious allergies the past week, so i better take care of myself.

hope everyone is well......thanks for reading. i promise i'll come back and get back on track with posting.

H.E.,
vanissa.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

FIREFOX.


can anyone explain to me why my firefox won't work??!!!!! ZACH HELP ME PLEASE.

not much to blog about. i'm still braindead from the week. i have WORK to do today and i am slacking. UGH. UGH. UGH.

Thursday, October 20, 2005


the sleep deprived week.


I'm exhausted. I've been training all week at the new job, discovering downtown brooklyn, working out, and drawing NON-STOP, and every day i have the goal of getting home early to sleep...

it never happens. tomorrow is friday and i'll have the weekend to chill, but not really...i have a lot of goals for myself.

anyway. my brain is dead. i'm brain dead. meet athena, Spike Brigade's favorite carnivore.

HE, v.

Monday, October 17, 2005


SPIKE BRIGADE: transcription and icon


had a good first day at work...bla bla...let's just get to the meat!! i'm thrilled because after transcribing the first scene of Spike Brigade with my co-creator, ric, i went and completed this badass icon drawing of spike (one of two main characters)! i was so thrilled with it i played around with it in photoshop with different color combinations..and this moment as we speak i am making t-shirts available on cafepress.com!

:D call me crazy.

and after you do that, check this out.

HE,v.

Sunday, October 16, 2005


the best band in the world


i'm still convinced that The Faint is the best band in the world. pictures will be posted soon...i just need to recharge my batteries. it's late at night, and i'm wide awake. i think somehow i'm tuned into West Coast time. i think subconsciously i want to be back there...ohhh oh oh...i miss the weather...the sun....the...

the show tonight was orgasmic. there really is no other way of putting it. they are AMAZING!! AAAMMAAAAZZINNNGGG!!!! if i could only scream right now...i would scream, AAAMMAAAZZZINNNGGG!!! but i'm currently in my loft with three sleeping roommates.

ahhh...i could drool all night.

so much for an intellectual post.

BAD ASS!!!!!!!!!

a product of the Toy Design major, by an Otis College of Art & Design student. (!!)



you know you live in the williamsburg ghetto when...


when your safety depends on the operating hours of the circus of a supermarket right across from your apartment building.

thank God Sunday is on the weekend and that responsibilities are down to a bare minimum. it's 4 in the afternoon, and i haven't showered, still have bedhead, and am in the middle of doing laundry, after having had lunch before breakfast, and now breakfast, with a cold cup of coffee.

yes, everything is backwards today because last night i didn't get home til 5am or so from some east village apartment party, where i discovered that there are some southern white boys that can dance.

it's getting colder and i am getting more and more paranoid of the East Coast winter i have ahead of my little chinese head. i mean, if being in an overwhelmingly new environment isn't enough...in addition, i have the blizzard of my adult life to face.

i realize i am not well equipt. i do not know where i have placed my umbrella, i do not have boots or any kind of water/snow/ice proof shoes (i'm a flip flop girl, please), and the few winter coats i have are...oddly colored and now i am paranoid about my fashion faux pas. i mean, please, i am living in NYC, afterall.

i've been shopping around for art schools, and that really has consumed most of the weekend. yesterday i went to The Academy of Arts University recruiting session in Manhattan, and got to talk to a few "bigshots," including the ex-head of the illustration department, and the current co-head of the MFA Photography department. it looks like i may be getting a second bachelor's, and it would be in illustration. i'm also looking at The Art Center of Design in Pasadena and Otis College of Art & Design, which has a Toy Design major...wouldn't it be kickass to design toys for a living?! think of the cool christmas gifts i would be giving.

i start my new job tomorrow, and i need to locate paperwork. and i don't know how long this will take me. but hopefully it won't take too long so that i can fit in the gym, a train ride to manhattan, and to arrive at BB King's Blues club around 9ish to see MorningWood open for The Faint.

i know this post has lacked coherence, and my apologies. my attention is also distracted because, in addition to being a complete flake, there are 2 car alarms going off outside, and i'm also listening to the new Franz Ferdinand WHICH KICKS COMPLETE BLACK ARSE!!!!!!

i think my clothes are done.

happy entrailing, peeps.
v.

Friday, October 14, 2005


new projects.


i know i'm crazy and take on too many projects, but seriously, having all these illustration projects is like heaven to me. i'm a half hour away from leaving for my interview and all i can think of is illustration projects, projects, and projects. i'm STOKED. this is so exciting.

so last week i started this "friends do this to friends" series. it's kind of like romance 101, only about friendship. throughout the course of my life, i feel like true friends have been really hard to come by, and more often than not, i get screwed over. after awhile, it gets old - don't you think? i'm sure you guys know what i mean.

so, i started sketching this new series, and heh, posted is an example of the outcome. so far i have about 25 ideas. i need about ten more to have a completed series. let me know if you guys have any ideas. i love interaction from friends when it comes to my work.



<--posted here is another new illustration project i've been working on. i've conjoined heads with the brilliant ric parada to create this new series that we hope will leave us RICH AND FAMOUS! hehe. it started out as a comedy skit too, but now it has taken a whole new direction. it's a post-apocalyptic animation about orphaned kids who live under a city. i won't spill too much, but kids, watch for this. this is going to be great!

anyway, i gotta run. lots of stuff tonight with bar4/matchless owner larry's new bar opening and the heavyweights' second october show at pianos. hope to see you kids out there tonight.

h.e.,
v.

Thursday, October 13, 2005


being honest with instinct.



it takes guts to follow what they're trying to tell you. and after much personal meditation and putting my head together with a beloved life mentor and close, personal friend, i've made a very huge decision to sacrifice something incredibly important and precious to me to invest in something much, much more critical to me at this time: my growth. does all of this sound gay? well, i'm being vague, because it is personal, but all of it is very, very good and very, very positive, so, just to let you all know, things are on the upside.

the image above is a movie poster i completed today for my dear friend Seneca Haynes' movie, River of Dread. i hope he likes it.

and below...a sketch+photoshop piece i did recently, reviewing the lows of my emotional personality.





big, big interview tomorrow. must prep. everyone have a good night.

H.E.,
v.

BLAAAAAAAA.


so i've been MIA for the past couple of days dealing with deep, personal issues. it isn't fun, it is probably my least favorite aspect of my life because it brings the most pain and heartache, but yet, then again, it is also the very center of my existence. sounds like complete hell, doesn't it? i can assure that it is.

getting interviewed for a big job tomorrow and i'll be prepping all night for it. i'm going to try to make it out to the gym tonight in brooklyn heights, do some book shopping at B&N, and maybe pop into Bar Matchless for some candids of some local talents. we'll see.

i feel like i've been hit with a whirlwind.

Sunday, October 09, 2005


bitches be trippin'


last night was tons of fun on ludlow street with a band that was very clearly better than Elvis. it was my first Heavyweights show, and easily said, not my last. this here is a shot from last night capturing lead singer, casey shea's raw and fun energy with the heavyweights audience. i'm not completely done with editing the set yet, but i'm getting there. hang tight.

in the meantime, the photos that have been edited may be seen here.


well, this weekend my professional/unemployed life takes a backseat while i focus primarily on my personal life that has suffered tremendously since my move back to the East coast. i'm also going to work -- a tiny bit -- for Fried Squid Productions, whose 1950's horror film, River of Dread, will be premiering in downtown Blacksburg at the beloved Lyric Theatre this halloween. this short hiatus may surpass the weekend...but i'll peep in here and there as i piece personal issues back together.

on that note, everyone have a safe weekend.


happy entrails,
v.

Friday, October 07, 2005


there's only so much you can do on the roof


yesterday was slightly productive. i'm starting to get used to working in my pjs as i have set up my new "office" in the center of my loft apartment. boris's desk is right next to mine, so now we're "co-workers," and i am left to reminisce of my old days in corporate america, hiding in my cubicle from my boss, listening to her 5 voicemails about the memo that got lost in cyberspace, and slowly, subconsciously planning "going postal" on everyone's asses with my very sharp pencils. only now, this time everything is pretend, so the situation is that much greater. an instant message will pop up on occasion, "THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL OFFICE!!!!!!!" between boris and the other original loft-dweller, the talented amy peters, there is enough insanity to make it seem like all of this is real.



high-light of my day


after spending hours "training" for my possible new job, i found my way to the infamous G-train and spent a couple hours in brooklyn heights, where my gym is located. and on my way to the bar (right after the gym, hehehe...nothing like ruining everything you've worked for in one night), sitting in the G-train, i noticed these four old men hanging out across from me. they were immigrants, but i don't know from where, and they were speaking some kind of unidentifiable language. they were really cute, so i started to sketch them, and i kept smiling at their silly gestures. since i couldn't hide my expressions, they noticed, and came over one by one to see what i was sketching. soon after i got to my stop and had to leave them, but they gestured that they wanted to have the sketch. since this was from my sketchpad, i had fresh notes i'd written minutes earlier so i was a little reluctant to give it to them, but i figured, what they hey, they're fresh notes...i can rewrite them later, and how could i reject the request from such sweet old men? so i ripped it out and gave it to them in haste so that i could get out of the train before the doors shut. from outside the train, i watched it go by and saw the four men through the window. they were all bunched together looking at my sketch, pointing and chuckling. :) anyway. they responded with such genuine laughter that i was really sincerely moved. and that was the high light of my day.

local correspondents, matchless, and networking


so last night was a good networking night at matchless. i met up with jessi and her LC partner, tanya buziak, and took a few photos of their featured musicians....all really fxxking talented, i was seriously shocked. one artist in particular who really knocked my socks off is the talented christina rubino, whose strong character is very clearly exemplified by her dominant voice and fearless stage presence. her performance literally awoke me from my mindless sketching and my concentration was so interrupted that i had no choice but to watch her perform and listen to what she had to say. i actually wrote down these lyrics which i liked very much, "I could see God in your face/Kiss the gods in their face," and "Desperate now/Hold the light." christina is also an artist too, and her work featuring her dead doll character can be seen in matchless's foozball room. needless to say, she has a new fan ;).



christina rubino - lighting a cigarette outside Matchless.



the two lovely hosts, jessi robertson and tanya buziak


the other musicians were all really amazing too, and i unfortunately didn't get to mingle with too much. with my camera and my sketchpad around, i am a little spacey and introverted. to view the new photos, please click here.

hi mom

so i just recently found out that more people than i thought read this blog, and with all the new networking (aka, netwhoring) i am and will be doing, i'm sure the numbers will only increase. one very important person in particular who i just found out reads my blog is my mom. hi mom! i love you! i'm not going out and getting drunk every night and smoking my lungs out and spending large amounts of cash i don't have and kissing strange men, so please, please, please, do not worry! (and don't pay attention to the photos of me doing such things, everything is staged and i am just acting, i swear.) i am very well-behaved, i'm serious!!!!! eh...heh heh.

so, commentators, with respect, please keep your comments rated PG. leave the R and X rated stuff to me.

tonight's the night

so tonight is the first October friday show of The Undisputed Heavyweights. it's at 10PM at Pianos on 158 Ludlow Street, and YOU SHOULD GO...not only because the Heavyweights kick a lot of ass, but also because i'm going to be there. :D

so, on that note, everyone have a great Friday, and i'll see you tonight.

happy entrails,
v.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005


it's finally done.


well, i spent a nice evening putting together this poster for The Undisputed Heavyweights. this is the first poster of the october series - i have a few more in my head that i want to roll out in the next few weeks.

i'm excited about getting this kind of exposure. a HUGE thank you to Wes, one of the guitarists of the Heavyweights, for befriending me and giving me this huge opportunity. he is also a major glen phillips fan, so he gets props ;).

well, it's late. i had planned on going to bar 4 tonight to take some photos of the musicians there tonight, but since i was working on this and other things, it didn't happen. tomorrow i should show up though, and it will be a good time.

goodnight!

h.e.,
v.




the musician set.


i've a new photographic-related focus, which is taking shots of local NYC musicians. i've organized a set specifically for this on flickr, so view it here and visit often.

H.E.,
v.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005


renewed.


<--passionate do-gooder, jessi robertson.


going to CBGB's gallery with new musician friends and to Bar4 for their open mic night was the perfect dessert for me after a stressful morning of driving around trying to navigate my way through brooklyn to get to my interview for a day job in Howard Beach (the job is in brooklyn heights but i had to go to Howard Beach, which is in queens for the interview). thank God it was broad daylight. i was in some pretty sketch hoods.

the little-roadtrip-gone-to-hell left me discouraged, tired, and a bit disgruntled. a driver can only take so many detours and one-way street maneuvering. it took me a full HOUR to travel 7 miles. that's how brooklyn streets are organized (they're not).

tonight i learned from a friend that East Williamsburg (where i live) is a nice name for Bushwick, which has always been known as a sketch neighborhood. isn't that fabulous?! yes, i think my neighborhood is a bit sketchy, and that the one thing good and safe about it is that my building is super nice and super safe.

but i pray for my car everyday.

though i went out, it was a fairly low key night for me. i was a bit introverted and out of it. i think i was mostly tired and i guess tiredness hikes up my shyness (which is usually zero, right??!!). even so, being around these crazy, poor, starving, passionate musicians renewed me. it gave me a bit of hope for my survival in NYC. there all here and starving. some of them aren't even legal immigrants. if they're here and happy and making it, so can i!

tomorrow will be filled with productivity (if i have it my way). i have a few illustrations that need to be perfected, scanned, and edited and re-edited, phone calls that need to be made, and some working out that needs to be done. i'm going to try and start it early...which means i better get off blogger and get some sleep.

H.E.,
v

Monday, October 03, 2005


a million new york minutes


days go by like minutes here. doing the network thing and meeting thousands of contacts, painting the walls of my new apartment, unpacking all my shit, finding time to draw in solitude and quiet, learning the ins and outs of my neighborhood, getting to know the train stops, arming myself with pepperspray, socializing with my new roommates, finding the best deals on groceries, gym memberships, and art supplies, dealing with the spontaneous weather, and trying to hold on to my agenda and focus while living in this crazy, existentialistic monster of a city.....

it's been hard to keep up. and so much has happened since my last post.

the top left hand graphic is a small piece i did for The Undisputed Heavyweights - this band i met a few nights ago when a new friend of mine invited me to the Local Correspondents, organized by the networking goddess, Jessi Robertson. they will be featuring my illustrations this month through ad posters they'll be putting up on billboards advertising their friday night residencies at Pianos on 158 Ludlow St.

this is good exposure for me....for sure.

so now i'm freaking out. things have to be perfect.

i'm trying to think of other news.

the weather is sucky. i knew i had to deal with this, but i had no idea that it would affect my mood so much. it's sticky and hot, or it's windy and cold and rainy. it never seems to be good.

i'm going in for an interview tomorrow for a day job. *fingers crossed*

this city is so, so, so, so big, it's so overwhelming.

i don't know really what else to blog. i miss my blacksburg friends and my kids. i talked to one of my 7th graders online today, and this kid hadn't realized that i'd left and moved to new york. it's weird...to think of 7th graders on instant messenger.

anyway. happy entrails.

v.