I was recently at Fresno State Vintage Days and it was a wonderful place to shop for my upcoming mother's birthday AND Mother's Day! 

Here's the sign I painted for my booth. Like the rose from my garden as an added touch to my banner?

The Fresno State students made tons of effort to put on a good event. Kids got free balloons and you could even get your face painted!

The most fun I had was meeting other artists there and looking at some really unique handmade finds. If you are still shopping for Mother's Day, here are some great ideas!

For one, have you ever smelled beeswax candles? They smell heavenly!! I think I even saw some bees buzzin around Lorrie's booth at Your BeesWax!

Such beautiful candles, in all different shapes and sizes. Did you know that beeswax candles clean the air as they burn?! How eco-friendly is that!

Below are the various lip balms Lorrie makes. I'm currently using the lavender one. I was so surprised at how smooth it went on, love that! I hear the coconut one goes on extra smooth! 

Randy was one of my neighbors. He makes amazing pottery. I personally loved the egg beating one that comes with a mixer. I've always wanted my own pottery wheel to throw pots. One day!

I also loved this!!! Since I'm a huge cupcake-lover! I can imagine having these pieces in my backyard garden while having some tea and cupcake :)

My last stop was Cobble Creek Soaps. I LOVE their plumeria soap!! They smell unbelievable and remind me of back home on Guam where sweet smelling plumerias grow everywhere. Barbara and her husband hand make all their soaps :)

Their popular soaps are Applejack & Orangepeel, and Blackberry Currant. You can purchase them on their Etsy store. 

That's a wrap on a very hot & humid weekend! Hope this gives you some ideas on Mother's Day, coming up this weekend. It was SO great meeting all those that visited me!! I look forward to keeping in touch with you and sharing news of my travels on my newsletter. Thanks for signing up and connecting with me :)

I stumbled upon this beautiful website of nursery inspirations, called Lay Baby Lay. Was thrilled to see my persimmon photo in their "Citrus Delight" collection... such unique finds, so thoughtfully put together.  I love the gold & orange colors, designs and pattens.

If you want to know a little something about this Persimmon Tree... it's kind of special because it's in our home! I'm so happy when they bloom! The photo is available in my Etsy shop, entitled "Persimmon Days" and would make for a nice baby shower gift or even a Mother's Day gift, which is coming up soon!

Koreans love persimmons by the way, in every way - freshly cut, dried or in tea. If you really want to impress a Korean mom this year, try to see if a local Korean grocery store carries dried persimmons. It would be a very traditional and thoughtful gift! 

Boy, what a weekend!

I spent two weeks preparing for Big Hat Days, a show near Fresno that reportedly brings over 140,000 people each year. As soon as I heard I had got in a couple weeks ago, I invested all of my time before the show preparing for it and spent some serious dinero. New canopy, tables, and frames for my work, along with preparing new photographs to premiere at the event.

It was my first big show and I was eager to experience it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best venue for artists this year. Other artists I had spoken with didn’t do well either. Seemed like it was more of a show for food and commercial items and not artisans’ works. I felt bad for the vendors that had driven from far away to be there and had to incur additional travel expenses. Others had informed me that if their repeat customers hadn’t come to visit them, it would have really been a bust.

Meanwhile, snapback caps were selling like hotcakes right next to me. I didn’t even know what the term snapbacks meant until this weekend… hats that snap in the back. I don’t really look good in hats because I sort of have a big egghead so I guess I’m uneducated about this market.

I had initial trepidations about the show mainly due to the high cost of entry but my fiancé thought that since their anticipated attendees were so high I should be fine. I had been to a much smaller show before, with just a few hundred people and made up all my expenses within three hours. How could we lose?

Now we both know that it is not a numbers game. It’s more about demographics… the right audience for your work is crucial, it’s not just about traffic. With my background in sales, we’ve always been taught it’s a numbers game. Well, it’s not! Quality and qualified traffic will always beat quantity. And this was not a fine art crowd. I will definitely not overlook a small show now.

Oh, and it also didn’t help that they advertised the Prime section I had paid additional $$$ for would have much more traffic because I would have two street sides to sell from. I was surprised when I got there to see that it was not a corner booth at all, there was just several feet of empty space between my booth and the next! I think all of 20 people passed by that side, including the vendors that were getting to their cars to load/unload! That was a little irritating. Kind of misled, you know?

We were also surprised by how few people actually wore Big Hats, except for the few... like these cool folks below, for which I had to take a picture:

I think the show is kind of losing the spirit of Old Town Clovis and getting more commercial.

But let’s not get too negative here. There were some highlights, like the gyros. My brother, fiancé and I ate gyros both days—delish! We even brought the gyro man exact change in small bills the next day to make sure we could purchase it. The pink fire truck full of letters to those have died of cancer was also very touching.

I am thankful to have met other artists that gave me some great advice and people that enjoyed my work enough to sign up for my mailing list. The silver lining were those that did invest in my work, I hope you love the photographs. I’m REALLY looking forward to keeping in touch with you, and hope you enjoy my new work and news.

All in all it was a worthwhile learning experience, and I’m glad I did it. Hopefully my next show at Fresno State Vintage Days from April 20 to 22 will be more fruitful!

Stay tuned!

Come out to Big Hat Days in Old Town Clovis, supposedly the largest Arts & Crafts Event in all of Central Valley!!  My booth will be between 7th & 8th St. on Pollasky Ave. near Nonni's House Boutique.

I found this picture on their facebook page, "Friends Don't Let Friends Miss Big Hat Days, Put It On Your Calendar Now!!" Pretty funny. Looking forward to it!! Hope to see you there!

Check out the Facebook page for the event for more details: BIG HAT DAYS

I've met some really friendly and kind people since moving to Fresno. Sometimes I ask if they know of any neat places my fiance and I can visit to get to know the area better. One of these happened to be driving down Watts Valley Road during the Spring. So on one fine morning, Derek and I drove off... and saw a lot of cows!

We ended up stopping by the side of the road to see the sites and take pictures. Here's one of the views we saw... a kind of Tuscan Hills like scene except for the black cows! Can you see them below?

So peaceful. Whenever I see distant hills I want to go up there and prance around like a giant teletubby.

Why did the turkeys cross the road? Where else would you see wild turkeys out and about... on Watts Valley Road apparently. I stepped on the brakes, reached for my camera, and took a picture before they scurried away!

We ended the drive heading up towards Shaver Lake and saw the amazing Sierra Mountains. The "Little Tree that Could" is now available on my shop. 

I recently ventured to Yosemite to witness the "Waterfall to Lavafall" phenomenon that happens every Spring. Apparently, when the sun starts to set at Horsetail Falls, the golden light makes the water look like lava... hence the Lavafall. It's hit or miss and well I think we missed but this is what I got instead - a golden lemon! 

There were so many other photographers and travelers that came to see the Lavafall. It was nice to see other photogs there - one person even brought a large 4x5 viewfinder camera. 

Here are a couple other beautiful scenes I saw on my day trip:

After getting dinner, my fiance and I looked up at the sky to see an amazingly clear sky full of bright stars! I took a quick shot of the stars by putting my camera on top of my car. We will defnitely be heading back to camp out and experiment with taking star trail photos. 

We'll be back Yosemite!! 

Roses are red, violets are blue, rainbows are magical and so are you! 

Show your Valentine that your love comes in many colorful shades with this Polaroid style 4x5 mini print. You can hand write your own message below or order it with custom text. Here is a sample: 

There is space below the image if you would like to craft your own poem or note :) To have your custom text printed on the photo... see how here! 

During our Winter vacation to Michigan, my fiancé and I took a mini excursion to Holland. Although many attractions were closed for Winter, we were still able to see some neat things on our day trip.

Our first stop was Windmill Gardens, where we got to see a 230 year old operating Dutch windmill. Apparently, it is the only working windmill in North America. I'd love to vist during the Tulip Festival at summer time, must be gorgeous!

It was also a beautiful day to be on Lake Michigan to watch the sunset. There were so many other photographers there that evening with tripods and all! I felt right at home. 

The Nelis' Dutch Village was the most fun. We got to play with animals. Since most of the shops were closed, we were able to explore the little village all to ourselves. We definitely hope to come back during the summer. Here are some animal friends we made:

Derek loves animals and they certainly love him back! 

I also learned where my fiancé, Derek, came from :)

We ended the day strolling through the ice carving display downtown. It was quite the impressive display. We stumbled across this interesting creature - half seahorse, half unicorn? 

Ice throne, apparently everyone wanted to sit on it :)

Thanks for the great day Holland, we hope to see you again!

My fiancé, Derek, was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His 10 year high school reunion was this year so we went back East to attend the holiday reunion party and spend Christmas with his family. Growing up on Guam, where it's summer all year round, it was my first time seeing snow falling. Here are some sites I've seen so far during my few days here. 

My mother asked me once while we were driving... "where do birds go to sleep?" I honestly couldn't give her an answer. If you happen to know, please enlighten us with a comment :) The Birdie Photos below were taken in Santa Monica, on Euclid St. (which is really 13th street in disguise!) I have taken many a bird shots in this street corner. If you like these, click on the photos below and see where you get transported! 

20% off SALE til Dec. 7 to ensure all orders get shipped on time for Christmas :) Type in code HOLIDAY20 at check out. Happy Hoiidays!! Thank you for supporting handmade goods & the arts :)

The makings of my display... Inspired by being surrounded with Fall folliage, I picked up some leaves on the ground for my display:

Signing all my prints :)

Let the matting begin! The Fall Trees picture displayed on the easel was my best seller, and the one below is a scan of my original sumi-ink painting.

Making ham & cheese sandwiches!! It's all about this Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard.

Decided to use my vintage-inspired Paris Jewelry Box to hold change in.

Setting out my pictures for display. Everyone loved the fall leaves as part of my decor :)

Setting up my little corner. I have Fall leaves on the ground by my easel ...as if some leaves have fallen from the trees in my photo ;)

My 'California Dreamin' 2012 desk calendar display... made for great holiday gift purchases!

Close up :)

The largest print I had on for display, everyone thought it was a painting! I kept telling people that I was selling photographs :)

Sunday was Donut Day for all the vendors, YAY!!! Kept us goin'!

It was a nice 1st time show for me. I made some new friends, fans and had fun. This was one of my favorite items at the show from my next door neighbors, the World of Whimsy :) Stay tuned for more upcoming shows!! 

A few things I saw on my Thanksgiving day :)

In the mood for an artful day + some holiday cheer? Tis the season to be jollyin' with me at the Fresno Fairgrounds for the 1st annual Holiday Craft, Art & Gift Show! So walk off that turkey dinner you'll be having and mark your calendars this weekend from November 26 - 27th (Sat. 9-6pm, Sun. 10-4pm) at 1121 Chance Ave. Industrial Ed. Building, Fresno Fair Grounds. 

Will have more personal work and goodies from Guam not available on my Etsy store... hope to see you!

Print this discount coupon and bring to save $$$ on ticket entrance: 

The characters, Zhen 真, Shan 善 Ren 忍, embody a cultivation practice of assimilating oneself to universal principles of "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance." 

The original art work was hand painted by me with black sumi-e ink on rice paper:

I scanned my painting and digitally altered the image to reproduce it in graphic form, now available at my Etsy shop. To see more ink paintings, check out the section: Art Prints

As I was shooting this Fall series, I couldn't help but notice all the details... nature is full of intricate patterns to be revealed whether through the medium of photography or design. Strolling through the woods made me think that someone in the past was also in nature... inspired to turn these patterns into origami paper. Although most of my photographs have been fueled by my love for travel, I'm grateful to have found beauty close to my new home. To see more in this series click here: yes, I want to see more!

View my current exhibition on Papernstitch:

In my Etsy Shop Section, Art Prints, you will find graphic images of cities I have had the joy of calling home at one time. I used to live in an apartment on Via dei Servi close to the city center of Florence and steps away from the Duomo in Italy. I loved that there was a bakery downstairs. I'd go almost everyday to buy anything with chocolate on it and attempt to walk off the calories on my way to school.  

At the Pier in Santa Monica, CA. 

To view more, check out my Etsy Shop Section: Art Prints

... loved the new Fall collection of photos so much she wanted to come with me on my next shoot. Here's a glimpse of her running to a little red tree she found, much to her delight! Funny thing is, she kinda looks like the tree! 

Here is the image that I have available now in my shop, entitled "Red Tree."  I adore this photo, so much warmth and character in this little red tree! Dedicated to my mom for finding it, thanks Umma!

Being from the island of Guam, I never experienced the changing of seasons... it was summer all year round. As the leaves change color in this beautiful season of Autumn, my camera seems to transform into a kaleidoscope. Like a kid playing in the forest, I can't get enough :) To view more in this series: Birds, Trees, Nature