Tag: Inspiration Trips

Inspiration Trip: Myrtle Beach + Ripley’s Aquarium & Odditorium

Last week, my husband and I took some time off to enjoy the beach, which was a very big milestone for us as we’ve never taken a vacation together!  We’ve always done staycations and convention trips, but never anything like a complete escape thanks to the pile of medical bills that have always thwarted us in the past.  This was our way to celebrate Kev’s career change, our new home, and so many little and big victories that have been happening for us over the course of this year and last!

It was a lovely time spent walking in the sea breeze, catching dinner shows, and spoiling ourselves!  We went to a Murder Mystery dinner where we had to solve a series of murderers by dessert.  We also set sail with a Pirate dinner show with dancing skeletons and aerial acrobatic mermaids in a water-filled stage.

It was an awesome time and after the rough start to 2023 I’ve had, I’m happy for a reset button!  Taking time away to actually leave the house reminded me how important it is to do these things before the burnout catches up with us, which it has for me for years now for a multitude of reasons.  I’m very happy to be able to just enjoy myself and get outside of my own head for awhile!  There’s so much more to life than angsting about my projects, skill level, and existential threats like AI and I really needed this break away from the anxiety of it all that’s quadrupled over the course of the pandemic.

Another highlight of the trip was visiting the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Aquarium and Odditorium buildings, which are the source of the reference photos I’ve collected at the top of this post.  Atlanta’s Aquarium still reigns supreme, but there’s something nice to be said about the quieter Ripley’s Aquarium where we could take our time without a huge crowd.

IMAGE CAPTION:  My fave souvenirs from the trip – a tiny stone turtle which supports conservation efforts and a mug to fit all the matcha!

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IMAGE CAPTION:  My husband, Kevin, and I at the Ripley’s Aquarium.

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I’m already missing that calming breeze, but I’m also excited to get back in the studio!  We finally had our chance to properly rest and now begins the efforts to re-organize my new bigger studio space and also to start fixing up our new home the way that we want instead of living out of boxes as we have for the past 3 years.

Now that I’m back home, that also means I’ll be working to re-launch this Patreon and  learning how to use the Merch system, which I think will be fun and easier for you guys to use than my Backerkit Secret Shop for those merch tier rewards.  I have some exclusive goodies coming that I finished before vacation that I’m excited to share the big final reveal of!

More soon!  Till then, enjoy the pics and feel free to use any of the animal and beach images as you like for your own projects.

♥ Ang

Inspiration Trip: Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors

One of the goals I have for this year is to get out of the studio more and to start nurturing my soul more!  As much as I do enjoy working alone quietly on art, I feel like after awhile I need to escape my familiar surroundings, constant to-do list, and worldly troubles.

I do believe artists need more than just art to be creative.  We’re problem solvers and its our life experiences that help us make those seemingly unrelated connections that help us solve visual and creative problems!

I really wanted to see Yayoi Kusama’s amazing exploration of lights and space for my birthday last year, but tickets sold out almost as soon as they were released for pre-sale!  I was shattered and the only way to get tickets was to hope you could get one of the 100 they would sell each day (which meant an hour drive and bad traffic without the promise of being able to get in).  I had given up on actually going until a friend informed me that they wouldn’t be able to make their time slot and graciously gave me her two tickets!

So off to museum I went with my mother in tow!  We also visited the SCAD Fashion museum beforehand, but I’ll save that for the next Inspiration Trip post.

My mom and I in the room of Dots Obsession – Love Transformed into Dots. 

Kusama’s art invites you into an obsession with form and shape.  Polka dots abound alongside countless phallic shapes and psychedelic colors!  It is when she discovered the power of installation art that she says she truly found her power of expression.

There are 7 rooms in this exhibit, each exploring the infinite void of vision and the power that losing our sense of self grants us when we realize how small we are.  The very first room, entitled The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, overwhelms you with a field of stars blinking brilliantly, only to flicker out to complete darkness.  Then, the stars appear once more, restarting the life cycle. (You can see video I took in this room here).

Each room was surprisingly small with room to comfortably fit 3-4 people.  At the artist’s request, visitors only have 20-30 seconds to appreciate this awe-inspiring site before they must exit!  To me, this perfectly reflected Kusama’s message of the brevity of life and enjoying fleeting beauty.

The 3rd room, Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, was my favorite room!  Countless tiny lanterns float in space, flickering gently and receding into a dark expanse.  I was reminded of the floating lights of Obon, the festival of lanterns, each lantern representing a soul floating back to its place in the underworld.  I thought of my Lady of August, the guide of souls, and thought of her floating among the lanterns.

There was much more to explore in this exhibit that I shall leave as a surprise for those who might view it themselves.  The final room in the experience was the Room of Obliteration.  This room begins completely white at the start of the exhibit.  As patrons complete their experience, they are given a sheet of stickers and asked to adhere the stickers wherever they like!  I chose to continue a chain of hanging stickers that other patrons had built coming off of the light fixture.

Room of Obliteration 

It’s amazing to see how this room has changed and to feel like we’re taking a small part in the creation of a piece of art!  Everything we as insignificant beings do starts as a raindrop that creates a flood. 

My souvenirs from the trip!  I enjoy collecting magnets to remind me of fun times when I look at our fridge.

I could have spent much more time in this exhibit, but sadly all things must end.  If Yayoi Kusama’s exhibit ever comes to a museum or gallery near you, I highly recommend it as an thought-provoking existential and sensory experience.