Fashion's Night Out with Saks & Crayola!

I just got a big box of goodies from Crayola today!  They contacted me a few weeks ago about doing a project with them and Saks Fifth Avenue.  Of course I did a happy little dance and promptly accepted the invitation!
I will be doing a crayon carving demo at Saks Fifth Avenue on September 6th for Fashion's Night Out 2012!!!  This will be a super fun event for everyone sponsored by the wonderful peeps at Crayola.  Besides for myself, Mr. Herb Williams will be there to construct a giant Crayola sculpture.  There will also be a interactive, life-size paint by number and airbrush graffiti wall!  Hope to see you there, please come by and say hi, don't be shy. :)

Fashion's Night Out NYC 2012
Saks Fifth Avenue
611 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Thursday, September 6th, 6-10pm
*I'm scheduled to be on the 6th floor.  I will keep this updated if there's a change in location within Saks.
I've set up a UStream channel w/ live feed from Saks for those of you who can't be there but want to check out the action:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/diem-chau
It will go live between 6-9pm EST on 9/6/12.


I will have a selection of carved crayons on display.  The Crayola lab has given me a few GIANT crayons to work with!  These are big!  Here's a shot with Guy for comparison.  I'm excited to work with these special crayons.  I'm not sure if they'll make these for the retail market, but I think it'd be fun to have a huge box of crayons in your playroom.  Watch out sidewalk chalk, you have some new competition in town!


A test carving of a big 2 pound crayon.  I'm thinking of using textile design an patterns from various cultures for each crayon.  I will have 5 of these large crayons on display as well as some of my regular sized crayon carvings.

Elvistravaganza @ Bumbershoot!

I've been working on a fun new piece for a special group show at this year's Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle!  I was asked by Jo David and Marlow Harris to create a piece in honor of Elvis for their ELVISTRAVAGANZA show!  I wanted to recreate something iconic, bright and flashy, but in my minimal aesthetic.  I had a coil of baling wire in the basement and did some playing!


I created an armature of Elvis's hair with bailing wire and 2 pairs of pliers.  The armature was spray sealed to prevent rusting and I wove copper and brass wire around the armature to give it form.  The brass wire is the gold/yellow color and the copper wire make up the other colors.  I really love working in this method, there are minimal tools and materials involved.  It was very time intensive though and many bruised finger tips!


King's Helm 2012
13 1/2"H x 10"W x 11"D
Steel, copper and brass wire

ELVISTRAVAGANZA @ Bumbershoot
September 1st - 3rd, Seattle Center Pavilion

Come join me at the FREE preview: 
Friday August 31st, 2012
Noon to 9pm

This is going to be a really fun show PACKED with diverse artists!  A must see if you're in Seattle.  Come on down to Bumbershoot, listen to music, eat food and view art, what can be better?!  Check out the show's website for more info:
http://elvistravaganza.blogspot.com/

The Last Elephant

I made this piece after seeing photos of Jimmy John Liautaud, founder of Jimmy John's, killing endangered animals on safari in Africa.  I was enraged and disgusted!  I'm happy I've never eaten at a Jimmy Johns and after this I never will.  Thanks for bringing my attention to this Lisa.  The company that is responsible for these killing "adventures" is Johan Calitz Safaris.  I can't stand to look at those pictures, they're just vile.
My mother's family was from a rural part of Vietnam.  My grandfather was a hunter and both my mom and grandmother have done their share of slaughtering chickens, fish and I think pigs and goats.  I'm an omnivore so I don't want to step on a soapbox and pass judgment on the killing of animals.  But I'm 100% against animal cruelty and senseless acts like this.  It's just a pure ego stroke, lacking in any compassion or consideration.  You want to shoot something get a camera!



I wanted to make something beautiful and sad.  I feel his loneliness.


These closeup photos aren't as crisp as I'd like.  It's hard to see but all 4 legs and the trunk are separated.  This is a really delicate piece, I hope it survives the trip to Milan!  I had a hard time getting good photos of this piece with my 17-55mm lens.  I think I need to add a 100mm Macro lens to my arsenal of gear. 


The Last Elephant 2012
carved carpenter's pencil (graphite & wood)
5 1/4"h x 5/8"w x 1/4"d (13.3cm x 1.6cm x .6cm)

The Raven & The Sun

I've been preparing for a 2 person show in Milan that opens in September.  I'm very excited about this show and hope to be there for the opening.  I love folklore and myths.  I wanted to make something for Milan that reflected a bit of where I live and what I love.  Seattle is a small city, but one rich with cultural diversity and heritage, especially Native American traditions.  This piece is based on the Native American myth of how the Raven stole the Sun and gave light to the world.

Raven & The Sun 2012
carved carpenters pencil (wood and graphite)
5 1/2"H x 5/8"W x 1/4"D (14cm x 1.6cm x .6cm)

Galleria Patricia Armocida
via Lattanzio n°77, 20137 - Milano


The raven's beak and round bead is carved from graphite, the rest of the bird is carved from the pencil's wood.  When I carve graphite everything I touch turns black from the dust.  I thought I'd use this to my advantage and coated the bird's body with graphite shaving.  I love how shiny and reflective this surface is, almost like a Raven's feather. 

I feel I have to give a shout-out to one of my favorite folk artist, Dalton Ghetti.  I'm a great admirer of his work and the fact that he's self taught.  It's difficult to work in such parallel to another artist and not feel self-conscious.  I try to make work that is true to the self and reflect my perspective.  I feel as an artist you need to put blinders on sometimes and "just do it".  Don't think too much or else you'll shatter those fragile ideas, especially in the initial stages.  I hope I've brought something new to the pencil carving world.

I almost had a show with Dalton Ghetti last year in San Jose, but the timing wasn't right.  Such a shame, I hope our paths cross one day!  Maybe we can swap Exacto injury stories.  LOL

Portland: Mmm Mmm Good!

My stomach lead the tour through Portland.  I love Portland, it's just a mere 3 hour's drive from Seattle and packed full of great eateries!  We drove down for my opening at the Hoffman Shop Gallery in OCAC last weekend.  A friend recommended Ha VL Vietnamese soup and sandwich in SE Portland.  We drove straight from Seattle to this restaurant hoping there's still food left!  They only make 2 kinds of specialty soup per day and once they sell out they close shop.  We just made it in and had their last 2 bowls of shredded chicken soup!  Many sad faces came in after us.  This place definitely lives up to it's reputation.  It's a small hidden gem, the setting is ho-hum but you can sing about the food all day long.  They use traditional herbs and spices, everything is made fresh daily.  This humble bowl of soup brings me home. :)  It's worth it to make the trek out to see them and go EARLY or you might not get a bowl.  They don't take reservations, but you can call in first to see how much is left.  If you're interested in knowing more Wandering Chopsticks has the lowdown.


Our next stop was VooDoo Doughnuts.  We've been wanting to go here since Man vs. Food featured them.  I've had a few of their doughnuts before, but have never been to their shop.  HOLY COW the line was long!  It took 30mins to get our doughnuts... we thought the line was for a special event, but apparently it was just another Thursday.  It was a fun line, people were jovial, no cranky faces.


There was a another line once we made it through the door!  It's OK, the decor kept us entertained and we got to smell the doughnuts.  I really like their stained glass windows.


My favorite has to be the "Old Dirty Bastard" doughnut!  How can you go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate?!  If you're feeling lost at what to pick I would recommend the "Fryer Flyer" special, it's a dozen of their most popular doughnuts. 


Our final stop was the beautiful OCAC campus!  They have such a beautiful facility!  I came to see a show at the Hoffman gallery in 2008/09 and they were just starting the construction of this new building.  What a difference a few years make.  MaryAnn Deffenbaugh gave us a tour of the school.
I did not take this picture, I was too busy picking up my jaw from the floor and forgot about taking pics. 


This is the interior hallway of the painting building/studios.  Amazing light everywhere, there's never a dull moment in this space.  There's a great sense of airy lightness.  The building was designed by Charles Rose Architecture, more info HERE.


A student demonstrating the repousse process in their metals studio.  I think we made it to every building except for the clay and woodworking studios.  Next time.


Graduate students hanging their thesis show. 



My work at the Hoffman Shop Gallery.  Thank you for the tour MaryAnn, it's an amazing campus.  Makes me want to go back to school again.

Hoffman Gallery Shop at OCAC

I have a show coming up at the Hoffman Gallery Shop @ OCAC.  I will be there for the opening on April 5th!  Please come by if you're in Portland, it's a wonderful campus!

Hoffman Gallery Shop
April 5th - 29th, 2012
Opening Reception 5pm-7pm

Oregon College of Art and Craft
8245 SW Barnes Road
Portland, OR 97225

Did I Poison The Squirrels?

I went out to inspect the yard a few days ago and found that most of my peony shoots had been chewed off!  Fricken' squirrels!!!  I was so mad, all I could think of was the beautiful blooms that could have been.  A few days passed and I haven't seen the squirrels in my yard.  Usually there are 3 or 4, my husband feeds them and I try to discourage him.  They started to eat our winter beets and maybe the peony shoots looked like beet greens?  I googled to see if Peonies are poisonous and they are.  Apparently very poisonous if ingested in large amounts.  Maybe the little guys are just sick and vomiting somewhere... I hope they didn't kick the acorn cap.  :(