As an artist and a citizen of the world, I think it is so helpful and important to think deeply about people and places. When it comes to my own person and my own places, I think I am pretty unique. Ethnically, I am 50% Korean, 50% American white blend (German, Irish, and I'm not so sure what else but probably western European). I was born in Japan but grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I moved to Baltimore when I was 18. I married a nice, young Serbian man when I was 23, with the wedding itself consisting of multiple layers of people and places.

I've been lucky enough to travel to many US cities and states, as well as some foreign countries like Japan, Serbia, Korea, Italy and Canada. Just by living in the US and having my own foreign relatives, I've met plenty of people from around the country and the world. So, as you can see, I have a lot of different people and places to think about.

Maryland has been on my mind a lot lately--its place in the world, and my place in it. If it isn't obvious already, I love Baltimore with a passion. I love the community and the way people collaborate at a grassroots level. I love how people call it "Smalltimore", because everyone seems connected, and it's true. I love how we are who we are, and we're not that simple. I especially love the nonprofit scene, including Maryland New Directions where I work, and Mesh Baltimore, where I often go to learn, meet people, and even teach! I of course love the art scene, the creative people here and the opportunities. I think that the citizens of Baltimore really are responsible for what happens here, and that's powerful. It is a great place to be right now!

I must admit, however, that I have not spent too much time exploring the rest of Maryland, or the region. Recently, though, I have been prompted more and more to find out who exactly we are in this area. MAP recently put out a call for artists to explore the contemporary cultural climate of mid-Atlantic region of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. I applied for that show, and am waiting to hear back. Also, Hood College in Frederick, which I have never visited by the way, put out a call for artists living within 50 miles of Frederick, which includes Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and DC. Happily, I will be participating in that show later this month. I realize by now, I am certainly a part of this region, but I also wonder, do I understand us as a region yet? What is the culture here? How would I describe it?

I recently started finding out a little bit more about Maryland. The state itself certainly feels small to me, but also vibrant and important. When it comes to land area, Maryland ranks 42nd in the country, yet its population is ranked 19th, with a population density of 596 people per square mile. That makes it the 5th most population-dense state in the country. To put that in perspective, the US has an average population density of 89 people per square mile, Colorado with 49, Serbia with 241, and Japan with 873. Wow! Maybe that is why it feels like we all know each other and we're all doing a lot--we're really packed in here!  As basic as population density and area are, they really have an impact on a citizen's entire life experience.

I was starting to think that not just Baltimore, but maybe all of Maryland, is small, mighty and connected. This suspicion was validated when I invited Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot to visit and speak at Maryland New Directions. To my extreme delight, he accepted my invitation, and yesterday was the big day of his visit! To think that he oversees the finances of our entire state, lives in Takoma Park, works in Annapolis, but can come up to Baltimore so easily made me realize how truly closely-knit we are. Even though there are a lot of us here, everyone is within reach; that's not just a nice thing about living in Maryland, that's why we're special!

Even though we may be closely-knit, collaborative and hard-working, I know we're more complex than that. We're also an old and diverse state, with many traditions, tensions and behaviors that make us who we are. All of this makes it hard to describe our culture here in Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region. How would you describe us?

It's July, and there is nothing too new to report about #TakeASketchLeaveASketch. I checked on the original mailbox (now birdhouse) on Sunday. It still looks about the same as it looked a week earlier, no further decay and still no eggs in the nest. I wonder if the bird still wants to go through with laying eggs there since the roof and door suffered some damage earlier. I will check on it later again later on.

The great part about doing interactive outdoor art is that you have a reason to visit the park a lot! I highly recommend Leakin Park at Gwynns Falls Trail. It is quite beautiful as you can see...

One exciting thing happened yesterday. A contact I made at work, Rachel, said she would like to take part in #TakeASketchLeaveASketch, so she and a couple co-workers did some nice sketches for me. Check out all the sketches to date on the #TakeASketchLeaveASketch page!

Thanks to Rachel and everyone who has participated so far! Don't forget to like my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter for more updates.

From what I'm seeing nowadays, few people make art, and even fewer people make art full-time. There are many people, however, who are unemployed out there today, whether they're an artist or not. All things considered, I feel extremely fortunate that I have figured out how to earn income at a job I care about, serve on a Board I care about, and continue making and exhibiting art.

I've been reading a few articles about artists and their day jobs. Though I believe it is every artist's dream to be a full-time artist, I agree with some views out there that having a job and getting involved in other activities should not always be seen as necessary evils or mere distractions, but as opportunities to grow and have a stable enough life that you can still make art.

While taking a day job may seem like just a survival strategy at first, finding a job you enjoy and doing your best at it can generate many positive results for you as an artist and as a person. Even though you may believe you already know how to think creatively, a day job can teach you new ways of thinking that can help you as an artist, especially when you're young and just starting out. Here is a list of the top 5 lessons I've taken from my day job that have benefited me as an artist:

1. It's easy to be a well-known artist if you're a well-known person. One thing that was not stressed enough throughout my art education was how to build and benefit from relationships. Thank goodness I have learned how to network at my current job. Whether you're meeting artists or non-artists, socializing and networking will no doubt help you as a person be known around the community. Let enough people know what you do, stay in touch, and eventually you will be known not only for the work you do at your job, but also as a creative individual. Revealing to an acquaintance that you are an artist is usually received as a fun, memorable fact, but don't underestimate how special that makes you. Believe it or not, most people don't know too many artists and want to hear more about your art. Share it and embrace it. Before you know it, you will have some new fans, and maybe some interested buyers!

2. Storytelling is important. Ever since I started working at Maryland New Directions, all the nonprofit workshops I went to stressed the importance of storytelling. Stories are memorable. Stories are humanizing. Stories set you apart. After realizing how much impact stories had at my organization, it became clear that I needed to tell my own story more. This Friday I will be sharing about my career journey at the Connections Friday event at my organization. Normally I don't like to talk about myself and do not seek the spotlight in front of a group, but I have figured out that telling your story really does help you, no matter what profession you're in or how shy you normally are. Artists, it is especially important for you to be able to talk about yourself and your work, so don't forget this! Practice this everyday, if not face-to-face with others, then at least on blogs or social media. The way you present yourself is the way people see you, so work on it!

3. Have a web-presence. I hope this goes without saying, but as an artist, you need to show people your work. Most artists would stop at making a website, but, as I've learned from doing marketing for organizations, it is wise and rewarding to get on social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest can be particularly beneficial for artists. Blogging can also help you create your own brand and get more hits to your website. It's not rocket science: the more you market, the more attention and opportunities you get!

4. Participate in the community. Thanks to my accomplishments at my day job, I was invited to join the Board of the Baltimore Chapter of the American Marketing Association. It was difficult for me to accept this position, because I knew I would have less time for art and with my husband. But, as I mentioned earlier, it is important both to be well-known and to market yourself, so how could I say no? Artists, consider volunteering at any level in your community to help you learn new things, network and stand out as a multi-talented individual. But, make sure you think it through--do not over-extend yourself and make sure you put forth your best effort.

5. Tell people you're an artist. Now that you have a job, are meeting people, and getting involved with the community, it may be easy to forget you're an artist. Don't. The only way to be an artist is to continue making art and continue telling people you're an artist! Be open about it. If you have a job interview, let the interviewer know you make art and have shows. They shouldn't feel threatened as long as you convey that you really do want the job and that your art won't impact your work schedule. Sometimes employers will wonder how you can be passionate about the job if you are already so passionate about art, especially if the job is not in the arts field. For me, I have lots of passions and interests, so I genuinely do care about the work I'm doing in human services. Also, having a job at an arts organization could make you ineligible for competitions or exhibitions there, so that's another reason to explore jobs in other fields.

To sum up, being an artist is not easy. There may be times when you feel you like you're doing too much (you probably are, but, like I said, it's not easy)! For now, though, especially if you are good at managing your time and have a lot of energy, there's nothing wrong with working hard and building your credibility. That doesn't mean you should stop evaluating and prioritizing about what's important to you, however. You should constantly think about how the decisions you're making are helping you meet your goals. Over time you will acquire a lot of useful knowledge and contacts from your day job while proving to yourself how committed you are to being an artist. Who knows--maybe you will be a full-time artist one day, but you won't unless you're learning from everything you do and setting yourself up for success.

Last week was the slightly rainy opening of Nature Art in the Park. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I am pretty new to creating nature art (art made from natural materials) and public art (art displayed in a public place). I should also say I have never made an interactive piece before, but came up with the idea to build a nature inspired interactive mailbox. I built the box from found branches and bark, filled it with handmade recycled paper, left instructions for visitors take a sketch and leave a sketch, and encouraged them to tweet their sketches using the hashtag #TakeASketchLeaveASketch. I planned to upload all the Twitter photos to a page on my website over the course of the Nature Art in the Park exhibition. After much hard work, I completed the piece, installed it, and hoped for the best.

Because of the weather, not that many people visited my piece at the opening, but I did meet one person who sketched the following and put it into the mailbox. I was happy that the project was underway.

The weather continued to be quite rainy throughout the week, and there hadn't been any tweets after the first sketch, so I decided to check on my piece yesterday. I was surprised at what I found:

There was a bird's nest inside! To be fair, I modeled this piece after different birdhouses I looked at, but I didn't think a bird would take it so seriously. I called the organizer of Nature Art in the Park, and she suggested I rename this piece, put a "do not disturb" sign next to it, and make a new, more secure box to carry out my original idea. That sounded good to me, because if I took the bird's nest out, I am pretty sure another one would come around and use it later.

So, for now, #TakeASketchLeaveASketch has been temporarily derailed, but hopefully in a week or two I will have the second version finished and ready for action. If you would like to see (but not touch) this original #TakeASketchLeaveASketch art piece, find it on Trail D at Leakin Park.

Also, let me know if you would like me to make you a birdhouse.

Last night I had the pleasure of making my first public art pieces with some new friends. Even though I am an artist and consider myself fairly aware of art and art history, I realized that I could definitely stand to learn more about public art.

According to wikipedia, "the term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all." Wikipedia mostly pointed to large, imposing works to illustrate examples of public art. Baltimore's own "Man/Woman" statue came to mind.

I decided to look up other examples of public art, and found many other examples, some claiming to be the "most bizarre", the "most controversial", and "the best". After looking at all this, I was feeling a little unsure about what kind of public art I could make.

At the artbomb party, we had a table full of paper scraps, glue, markers, brads, paper clips, envelopes, and all kinds of found objects and tools. Mary has done a lot of public art, and explained that public art can really just be something you make for others to find. Whether you're yarnbombing or hanging up posters on the street, you are giving your gift of art to anyone who just happens to see it.  A public art project could be something people see and smile about, something that makes people think, or something that people can take with them, add to, or share with others. The possibilities are endless, as they say.

As a group, we decided we'd work on separate little projects and install the majority of our pieces on our own in locations we choose. I still need to choose locations for my pieces, but have a feeling they will be hanging off tree branches or hidden inside library books.

Here are some pictures of what we made:

Thanks again to Mary for opening my eyes to the world of public art, and also to Sailor for hosting the party!

Well, this was not my year for the Baker Artist Awards or the Sondheim Prize, but congratulations to the well-deserving winners!

The Baker Artist Awards winners were announced a couple of days ago. Congratulations to Jonathan Latiano, whose work I particularly love, Dariusz Skoraczewski, and Lynne Parks.

The Sondheim Prize finalists were also announced recently and include Gabriela Bulisova, Larry Cook, Caitlin Cunningham, Nate Larson, Louie Palu, and Dan Steinhilber.

Congratulations to all recipients once again!

This year has so far been filled with unexpected opportunities for me to stretch my creativity, all due to a little bit of meeting people and a little bit of marketing. Earlier this year, thanks to Rob who I met at Connections Friday, I was asked to join the Baltimore Chapter of the American Marketing Association as the VP of Communications. Last month, thanks to Mesh Baltimore, I got to share how to make Serbian Easter eggs. Soon, thanks to Nature Art in the Park, I will be creating a special outdoor piece at Leakin Park this month. And this weekend, thanks to public artist Mary, I will be meeting some new people and collaborating on a project. It just goes to show you, Baltimore really is a great place to live and work. You just have to put yourself out there.

I'm particularly excited to have some creative time with Mary this weekend. We met at the Fun-A-Day reception, and I later introduced her to a knitter I know, Shanna. They ended up collaborating on a group public art piece, seen here. Great job ladies!

To gear up for Nature Art in the Park, Sasa and I made our second visit to Leakin Park today. Though I have never made an outdoor piece before, an idea came pretty quickly to me about what I would like to create. One hint: it's going to be interactive.

Some reference shots:

Check back later for more updates and make sure you make it to Leakin Park this summer!

Yesterday after finishing up teaching my Serbian Easter Crash Course, I dashed over to School 33's Lotta Art. I was in School 33's Walk the Line last year and am a big fan of their shows, events, and programming.

Last night was my second time contributing to Lotta Art, a fundraiser where artists donate artwork, and guests buy tickets to be entered into a lottery-style drawing. Once a guest's number is picked, they can take home any piece on the wall.

This time I decided to donate something that would be easy to display in a home: Silhouette 1 and 2.

These pieces are made from handmade paper. I told the "buyer" of my art that it makes a big difference what color wall you hang the pieces on, so try a few and see what looks best. All in all, I loved getting to see Silo Point again, getting to see all the other artwork, and meeting so many art lovers in Baltimore.