Janice M. Chau

Sometimes we get creatively stuck, kind of like writers block.  It's always good to take a blank canvas, an opportunity, and friends get away from the work/studio environment and just do something therapeutic. I was given the opportunity this past May to be a featured artist for the Urban Ocean Festival at the Aquarium of the Pacific down in Long Beach.  I had just the right amount of time to plan and do something well thought out and prepared.  BUT...life happens on the in between and several family emergencies occurred.  I took one day in May just to process it all, I had no plan, and I had no ideas.  I just wanted to face a blank canvas and see where my imagination, a different world would take me.  With the community surrounding, kids painting, other artist indulging, and aquarium volunteers/staff helping.  It was a good run.  That place of tranquility was found in an array of colors, and the thought of snorkeling/diving by the pier. ...

First Art Class at Elephant Sanctuary Art House. Students and Coaches! On another adventure. A friend of a friend of mine invited me to come and create with the little tikes that were going to attend the first ever art class at Elephant Sanctuary Art House. (ESAH).  This was one of the funnest Saturday mornings I've had in a while.  It's because kids say the darnest things. It's funny how their imaginations run wild.  AND it is so awesome to see how their imagination comes to life in 2D or 3D form when they are given the opportunity to.  Here are my students being silly, focused, energetic and creative. Robert seriously was very mechanical about his elephant.  He built his piece by piece focusing on shape and proportions.   I could tell by the statements and the way he laid out the shapes before gluing it all down.   He used scissors a lot for the limbs, but tore the body. Christian had a lot of fun with the tissue paper....

This Saturday, I was able go and help renovate more of the church I attend.  From a previous post you may see that we did decorative birch trees with yellow in the nursery ( Kaleo Nursery Phase 1 ).  Yesterday, we went into the foyer, our small little transitional room to the sanctuary.  Our thoughts were matching the large stage wall to the foyer.  This time around the foyer was the guinea pig experiment for the large stage wall. The small team that I am working with have been set on using a merlot wine color for these areas.  But, honestly, its daunting to use such a dark color when our entire church is painted white. EVERYTHING  (walls) are all WHITE from the previous leasers of this building.  We have office blue carpet and office blue chairs.  So its very sophisticated feeling, simple, and lacking Kaleo style and personality.  Today's goals included painting this mini foyer, sanding and staining the hard wood shelf, and lastl...

Entrance from underground parking lot Ambiance before stepping into work Blue Woodie, 4 ft. by 8 ft., December 2011 Hallway into Clocking in, a combination of painted vignettes and historic photographs of Huntington Beach. Entrance door to main employee hallways. Surf Culture of Huntington Beach. Lifestyle, Careers, and Mom and Pop Shops in Huntington Beach. The past and the present of Huntington Beach. Before Huntington Beach was developed into a city, orange groves lined PCH. Thrive Mural (panorama), 38.5 ft. by 8.5 ft.  June 2011. Thrive Mural (hallway perspective). Breakers (panorama), 40 ft. by 8.5 ft.  December 2011. Entrance to Breakers Cafe, a tranquil cafe where employees rest and eat. Brearkers Mural (hallway perspective).  Thank you Kyle Ng Photography for your professional photos and good eye.

MERRYYYY CHRSISTMAS from the studio!!!!!! This past weekend I had a spontaneous DIY project request from dear dear friends of mine.  The request was for a gift for him to propose to her with yours truly included in being part of the plotting.   THE CONCEPT of the PROPOSAL He called me on Saturday night; ironically that phone call woke me up from K.O after a wedding I had just attended. He said I want to propose Monday,Christmas Eve are you free.  She would love it if you would be there.  So naturally, my answer was YES!  I have known her for 6 years now, and she's been through the thick and thin, the negative and positive attributes of each season of my life.  SO YES I want to be there when she says YES! We put our heads together, and the concept went form an empty box to filling a gift box with something that she wants but can't find.  The story behind that is that she gave me a gift in 2010 that I wanted but could not find. (it was a De...