A Self-centered Post :)

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear...uh...me me (get it? Mimi? Ha ha ho ho to the funny farm I go), happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeeee!

Oh yeah? You want to know how old I am? Well, as my mother would say, "I'm celebrating the tenth anniversary of my twenty-ninth birthday." Hmmmm, let's see...ten plus uh, twenty-nine is...thirty-nine! Yeah.



So, for my little ol' birthday post I thought I'd treat you to a bunch of self-portraits I've done over the years...well, most are from my college years (1986-1990) but I might put in one or two from recent times. Ya never know. Most of my self-portraits were assignments from teachers. I think it was the thing they thought would challenge students or something. (My major was Art, if you couldn't have guessed...I ended up with a BA in Art from San Jose State University in 1990.) Anyway, I had those same assignments from photography, drawing and paper-making.

Okay, this one was photography. I enjoyed the shadow effect on this one...made it rather sensual. Woowie.

Next is a series thing from 1988...I was really deep back then, you know, artsy-fartsy. Now that I have kids, I have to wait until after ten to become all surreal or impressionistic...heh, thought I'd throw out some big words and impress you ( I probably spelled them wrong, knowing me, and now you are laughing instead of feeling impressed). So, here is the deal about this series. In art school, the stranger or more creative you are, the better the grade. I'm not kidding...one time I hated the drawing I was doing, knew it would get a C or less...so, I took it, threw it on the floor and started to stomp on it with my shoes...it made a cool pattern. Next thing I know, the teacher is praising my creativity. So there ya go. Oh, back to the show...The first is a mask. Like the saying, "We all wear masks." Well, this mask you can see (gee, it is made out of foil...but let's just not think about that)...

So, the next picture shows me wearing the mask.

Now, I'm gonna rip it off...

After removing the mask, I feel vulnerable...revealed...scared. What will the world think of me without my mask?

Man, I was skinny back then...oh, hello, I was just thinking back. What's funny is that back then I thought I was fat. Sheesh. Okay, what's next. Oh, here is a charcoal drawing from a life drawing class...must have been around 1987...

It is pretty basic when it comes to creativity...I didn't use my feet or anything. So, ya want to know what I got for a grade? Here it is...It was taped to the back of the drawing. Not too bad for a first project...

Okay, here is a paper-making project that I mixed with photography and dark-room magic...I poured the developer on by hand to make it all strange looking. Don't know why my scanner scanned it so green...it should be cream colored paper and a black and white photo. Oh well.

Last is a drawing that I did for my F.A.I.R.I.E.S. book...I used myself in the mirror but made me look younger. The scene is underwater. I cannot really explain what is happening because you really have to read the book to understand...let's just say that she is getting the air out. No, it is not out of the nether-regions...it is out of her ears. I used charcoal and the computer to make it.

So, now everyone can recognize me if they pass me on the street...well, you'll have to add about 15 years onto them but, hey! You can do it! Hope you all enjoyed my tribute to myself. Heh. I had fun at least. ;-P