take me to the river...

went to the washougal river yesterday to beat the heat with sam and mike, two former classmates from 12. we also brought along a cardboard cut-out of simone i had laying around since she's at w+k london now.



it's super gorgeous out there and it was only a scenic, 40-minute drive from portland.

sam is leaving for tokyo on wednesday to see his family and then off to who-knows-where. maybe nyc, maybe not. it seems like everyone in 12 is starting to float off on their various journeys and it's interesting to see all the different places this thing is bringing us and also realize how important these people are to me.

the friendships we built during the program are going to follow me for a while, i know it. it's not every day that you can find people that you respect, can have meaningful relationships with, and can work with professionally as well. i wish more of us worked together now.

i feel like i'm coming up to a point in my life now where i really need to take another look at what i value in life and go after those things. there is so much crap in this world, it's very easy to get caught up in the mess of it and confuse what other people think i should do for what i want to do.

i know that i'm young and that i should make as many mistakes as i can now, but i want to make sure that i am making those mistakes doing what i love and chasing what i am after.

an update!

really? rery!

i am a lucky girl. truly. after a few weeks of lingering at w+k, post-graduation (finishing up the w+k=make art show) i scored a freelance gig doing interactive production there. (^_^)

i guess that means i'm a working girl now - which is exciting and will help me to pay back my loans, but i'm going to be looking for something stable as well.

this time after 12 has been very confusing and a bit tumultuous, but i'm glad that i've been able to reconnect with my friends and have been taking some time to take in the beautiful place that portland becomes in the summertime. there has been some truly gorgeous weather and i spent the 4th under the morrison bridge (not all day!) watching the fireworks and watching so much america's best dance crew it was spilling out my ears.

i hope you're all enjoying your summer - it's so nice to not have to carry a jacket around. and corn! and watermelons! and the 5 freckles i may or may not get!

here are some lovely things i've come across lately that i wanted to share:

SOUR / 日々の音色 (Hibi no Neiro) MV from Magico Nakamura on Vimeo.

"let's hang" zipper pulls from aaron meshon & kidrobot!
ohmygosh these are the cutest things ever. i have an ice cream cone and a toothpaste hanging off my phone i'm so asian! (0__o)

bye for now. hearts.

12 is over...

...and i'm still trying to figure out what to do next.

what i've done so far:
1. take down an art show
2. go to vegas
3. see the grand canyon for the first time
4. spend time with family
5. be still and think about what's important
6. get nostalgic and make a ton of 12-related stuff
7. work on my book
8. move apartments
9. re-connect with friends
10. enjoy having free time

but not enough free time to make this:

w+k=make

two thursdays ago, the biggest art show i've curated so far, W+K=MAKE opened at the portland headquarters of wieden+kennedy. it's w+k's first global art show and i had artwork from all of the seven offices in the show: portland, new york, london, amsterdam, delhi, shanghai, & tokyo from people of all different job titles -- the mail room to creative directors. over 100 artists participated and all the sales proceeds went to room to read, a nonprofit that builds schools and libraries and provides girls' education in developing countries.

500 people came through opening night and our brand new website that we built for the show had thousands of hits the first weekend. (all purchases are made through the website www.wkmake.com)

i've been working on this show for a few months and it was so wonderful to see all the submissions come in from all over the world. we did it to really celebrate the creativity throughout the entire w+k network.

in addition to artwork, i had screenings of film & animation shorts, two live djs (from the portland office), and wk radio played music exclusively by employees the night of the event. house spirits' matt and his wife were there pouring great drinks and i couldn't be happier with the whole thing. <3

















see more artwork here.

haven't blogged in a few months because...

jealous

of him:


BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

this should've been me.

12 does vday

sorry for waiting until now to post them, but in the spirit of love, hearts, and all things romantic, 12 made these valentines (in the style of the elementary school ones you cut out) and passed them around the agency.

most of these are inside jokes and unfortunately, they probably won't make sense to people who don't know us, but i thought i'd share them anyways.

long weekend: stella, andrew, & seattle <3

*warning: this is a photo dump*
i was a lucky lady and got to go up to seattle this past weekend to see stella im hultberg and andrew hem's new solo shows at roq la rue.



it was lovely to see stella and matthew again (it's almost been a year!) and stella's pieces were beautiful as always. super moody this round and she's working with different angles/perspectives. awesome.





this was the first time i've seen large pieces from andrew and they were gorgeous! he usually works small because he's used to doing gouache, but he did almost all oil for this show.




andrew hem's infamous matchboxes





stella bella


jason limon's work was next door at suite 100's show 10x10.



best way to end a night - albacore & tuna toro!


scariest ice cream truck ever - why do they have pickles?



photos at seattle art museum that i wasn't supposed to take (>__<)




seattle sculpture garden



(^_____^)


i had the bestest weekend ever up there. the company was lovely and i ate the best food: my favorite bbq sandwich at honey hole, tapas at quinn's, and sushi from wasabi bistro! <3