Due to the Family Weekend Craft Sale post being a week later due to my being bummed out at life, things have gotten backlogged (oops). That said! The last weekend was pretty fun, ranging from my social awkwardness at 1000% to having a ball visiting my sister up in Champaign, IL (about 3 hrs from C'dale, for those of you overseas who have never been).
Artists of Expressions Art Exhibition at Artspace 304 (goodness, that's a lot of "Art" lol)
So, this took place October 6th. If you remember my TV appearance back in May, this art exhibition was done in collaboration with WSIU. Two local art galleries, Artspace 304 and also one in the Carbondale Civic Center, have a partnership of some kind set up with the WSIU Expressions series where the artists that are interviewed are invited to display their work in the galleries for 1-2 months (depending on the gallery).
I rushed out of work and put on some minimal makeup.
Not bad for 15 min (with my being out of practice in putting on a yukata).
Mandatory "Artist with Work" Picture
Cool ceiling...kinda "artsy", no?
People + Food. Guy in the hat is the producer for WSIU.
African American guy in the back is the guy who interviewed me when I was on Expressions.
People actually show up to these things? lol
My people! :) I didn't get a picture with the others that came because I got distracted haha XD
Artwork (done by me + TZArtian team member Elizabeth Corner, using photos from Mei + Tara Willett) and the view as I was leaving of the exhibition space from the outside. Kinda cool :)
In short, I was an awkward mess, probably one of the youngest in the room, and definitely didn't know anyone aside from the producer and the interviewer. I think if this happens again next time, I'll just peek in and show my face and leave within the first 30 min. Hahaha XD
Thank you to Mom, Minnie/Gemini, Danielle + Liberty Schultz, and Jennifer Ashton for coming out to hang with me so I didn't die of boredom or awkwardness! :D
Champaign Visit
Fall Break hit us on Oct 9-10 (M-T), so that meant that a lot of students were going out of town for the "long weekend". We decided to use this rare weekend OFF of CCF duty (typically on Saturday) to visit Ash up in Champaign. Poor kid's been homesick and has had to deal with a lot, so I'm glad for the opportunity to go see her adorable self. Unfortunately, she had just caught a cold, so hugs had to be kept to a minimum (because as much as I love her, it will NOT be a fun thing if I get sick).
Gorgeous sky above WalMart. What's with everything in Champaign being orange and blue? lol
Kiddo in her dorm building. She has a lovely bay-window nook for reading purposes in the common area that she can visit and a pretty good piano to practice on! This dorm presents a lot of challenges for her (from sleeping arrangements to cooking), but these are two of the perks :)
We took Ash out to purchase all the necessary things for college life, as she has no vehicle and WalMart is a little ways off for her and it just isn't convenient for her to make the trip out. Several pairs of jeans, 8 cans of chicken noodle soup (her comfort food when she's feeling ill), and other odds and ends later, we came out to THIS gem of a gorgeous double rainbow sky.
Gorgeous, no? :)
This is technically the "sky" section of this post, but these came from when we were leaving Champaign and headed back to Carbondale. Sunsets, I'll tell ya. :3
Aside from seeing Ash and getting to spend time with her (discussing the latest K-pop boys that she's into and comparing the relative levels of cuteness and adorkable qualities between them), the next best thing was the plethora of delicious food we got to eat.
Quick disclaimer, I'm actually pretty serious about relocating to Champaign after I graduate (1) to be closer to Ash for the next two years she's in school, (2) because Champaign is about as large of a "city" as I'm able to comfortably handle long-term without losing my mind, and (3) food and myriad of Asian goods that are available due to the higher population of Asians. So don't be too surprised if I make an announcement a year from now saying that I'm moving to Champaign. lol (we can only hope)
Mid-day snack was delicious frozen yogurt from Coco Mero. Bottom layer is Dutch Chocolate (that stuff is rich enough to give Cold Stone Creamery chocolate ice-cream some serious competition), the middle (of course) is Green Tea (and lots of it), and the top was Milk Tea (curious, and was Ash's recommendation, but I honestly didn't like it all that much. Taste was there, but diluted). Top it off with two cream biscuit straw things and I was set and HAPPY. SO GOOD.
We stopped at Ozu Ramen for dinner. Kinda pricey, but REALLY good food.
Check out the gorgeous aesthetics of this spoon! It was sleek and just...so elegant.
...yes, I'm freaking out about a spoon. lol
Karaage (Japanese fried chicken. Ours at home is better, but theirs wasn't bad) and my first WIN takoyaki (octopus ball). I've had takoyaki before in Singapore, but I think that one was under-cooked...? This one was FREAKING DELICIOUS. I could eat this all day.
I got the Tonkatsu Black ramen (black sesame oil, didn't know that was a thing).
SO GOOD. SO CREAMY. And I probably gained so much weight from eating it.
But I have no regrets. <3
Caffe Bene is probably my favorite place to go in Champaign. Their "bing-su" is the most delicious thing, probably because it combined azuki red bean paste with walnuts and my favorite green tea ice-cream. It's a fool-proof combination and my taste buds and stomach were very happy for hours afterwards.
We also went to the place where Ash works (internship of sorts), Japan House at U of I. It's not directly affiliated with the university, though there are classes offered there that students can take that get college credit. They have ikebana (flower arranging), calligraphy, tea ceremony classes and more. They also recently had a tsukimi (moon viewing) and a Matsuri festival event that sound really interesting. They also had a museum exhibition about kimonos recently that I donated fabric for (for people to touch and feel what it's like), so that was a fun little contribution :)
These are Japan House, but they're the nearby garden area. Forget what it's called lol
This is one of the paths outside of Japan House. Gorgeous aesthetics.
Ash leading the way along the stone path. Love the way they've set this up.
Rock garden.
This is a whole path of CHERRY BLOSSOM TREES. I want to come up here for their hanami (flower viewing) event...we'll see how the semester plays out. My allergies may kill me as a result, but...still!
Beautiful bamboo path guides.
I've miraculously managed to get myself into the good books of Japan House and they have invited me to participate in their invite-only vendor set-up for the Matsuri Festival NEXT year, and there's apparently a few other events that I may be invited to participate in. They've also hinted that they may want me to host a tsumami kanzashi workshop in the future. Need to brush up on my skills and get cracking to improve my own work before then though!
There was also a Corgi. I'm a cat person (no question), but these....loaf of bread dogs are growing on me. I mean, LOOK AT IT. It's a walking loaf of bread!!!
Corgi!! :D
Loaf of bread corgi butt :P
I've talked it over with Ash and I'm definitely coming up here again on my own because there are places she wants to take me that our parents aren't interested in going to lol
So look forward to more Champaign stuff in the future!
So look forward to more Champaign stuff in the future!
Gonna be introducing all of you to one of my favorite authors on this next #FeatureFriday.
He's got a Kickstarter going that you'll definitely want in on if you're a fantasy lover.
Be sure to subscribe (in the top right corner of your screen) and don't miss it!
See you all on Friday!~
