driving to paradise.

Seasons of my backyard through my fujifilm.

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:05:42 -0400

Seasons of my backyard through my fujifilm.

Starting an alphabet print. Caps only for now. Will be available...

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:33:26 -0400

Starting an alphabet print. Caps only for now. Will be available for sale once finished.

Stitched Stories

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:52:00 -0500

Clementine: This is it Joel. It’s going to be gone soon. Joel: I know. Clementine: What do...

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:52:52 -0400

Clementine: This is it Joel. It’s going to be gone soon.
Joel: I know.
Clementine: What do we do?
Joel: Enjoy it.

From End of June to Mid October

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:14:48 -0400

Sometimes I go on google earth and just look at the beauty of the earth’s surfaces. This is...

Sun, 15 May 2011 19:01:53 -0400

Sometimes I go on google earth and just look at the beauty of the earth’s surfaces. This is Greenland.

We crumble but collect.

HK74七四

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:16:35 -0400

This is it. My time is done here. This was such an incredible experience, and my heart breaks because I know that I will probably never come to Hong Kong ever again. But even if I do, it will not be the same.

Above is a photo montage of pictures that didn’t make the previous cut. If you would like to buy any prints from the HK blog post series and my attempt at photography, I would be glad to share my visual experience with you. (Laurenmae4@gmail.com)

Right now, Hong Kong is a living, breathing moment in time, but in 10 hours, it will become a mere fraction of a memory. The present becomes the past so quickly that we will never fully recognize its existence.

Nevertheless, I hope that my stories and my photographs helped share my experience with you. But of course, there are emotions and moments that I could never fully translate into words. Because of this, I hope that you can go to Hong Kong someday so that you can create a memorable experience of your own.

This was day 七四.

This was Hong Kong.

Back to America.

HK73七三

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:29:00 -0400

It started with a taxi. My first night in Hong Kong was exhausting and miserable to say the least, with no one to pick me up from the airport but a taxi driver who didn’t speak English. Somehow I managed to communicate to him and was able to navigate my way to my destination. But I was tired, out of breath, loopy and confused. All I remember was crossing this beautiful bridge, looking out my window thinking “Wow, I really am on the other side of the world” and “I really hope he knows where he is going.”

It ended with a taxi. Tired, out of breath, loopy and confused, I leave the school building with friends after midnight to take a taxi home after 3 long days of hard work. I felt exhausted and miserable again, but I came across the beautiful bridge that captured my attention before. The driver still didn’t speak English, but at least I knew where I was going this time. This foreign land was not foreign anymore. It was familiar, it became home.

It started with a taxi, it ended with a taxi.

This was day 七三.

HK72七二

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:59:28 -0400

Please stand back from the doors. This may seem like a stupid thing to write about, but the MTR is actually a crucial aspect to the Hong Kong experience. I rode on this highly efficient but tightly crammed subway almost everyday, and while there were good times and bad times on the MTR, one thing is for sure. I know now how to say “Please stand back from the doors” in Chinese, and will forever regard those six words as a piece of nostalgia in my life.

Below is a video of the sounds of the Hong Kong MTR.

This was day 七二.

Video

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:59:20 -0400

HK71七一

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:01:00 -0400

DOGS! …are people here. They possess so much personality as they roam the streets of Hong Kong, often without a leash, by themselves. In fact, some dogs even know when its the right time to walk the crosswalk. It’s fascinating to watch them strut on the streets and show love to their owners in a special and unique way. I even believe that if an American dog were to face a Chinese dog, they would not speak the same language. I can sense that dogs act differently here than they do in the states. Even though the idea of domesticating animals seems a bit odd, we enjoy their company because we communicate to them in a way that could never be communicated among humans.

This was day 七一.

HK70七十

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:53:08 -0400

Every day, every night. This woman hides behind a white blanket, camps out on the streets of Hong Kong, gets kicked out by the police, and then comes back in the same exact spot. She lays on the corner between consumerism and greed. This is her home. This is her territory. People pass her by, because they see her there so often that they don’t even see her anymore. I’m not showing this picture for exploitation or any other personal motives, I am simply communicating this odd juxtaposition that the world has created.

Video

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 03:57:07 -0400

HK69六九

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 01:22:54 -0500

Day two of Semi-Permanent conference = even more awesome. Sagmeister, Dainippon Type Organization, 180 amsterdam, Anomaly, Kayt Jones, Industrial Light & Magic. (dainippon.type.org, www.sagmeister.com, anomaly.com, 180amsterdam.com, kaytjones.com, ilm.com) It was all great and truly inspiring. There are so many amazing things going on in the design and art industry right now that it’s mind blowing. But whats even more mind blowing is that I only have 5 days left in Hong Kong.

This was day 六九.

HK68六八

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:19:27 -0500

First day of Semi Permanent design conference = awesome. Many inspiring speakers, profound questions, and powerful work. It’s amazing to see how design can inspire change in the world and question our knowledge and perspective on life. This is why I wanted to be a designer in the first place, in order to communicate a higher purpose to the world through a visual language. (www.semipermanent.com) Day two is tomorrow, including a talk from Stefan Sagmeister. Should be rad.

On an another note, for those wondering about the Japan tsunami, Hong Kong was not affected by it. Japan and Hong Kong are actually relatively far away from each other. (http://bit.ly/ezZIhZ) But I pray for the people of Japan, and I fervently hope they can find refuge in the midst of destruction. Thanks everyone for the concerns.

This was day 六八.

HK67六七

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Okay let’s all get it out at once, OMGTHEYRESOCUTEIJUSTWANTTOTAKEONEHOMEAHHHH. Okay, now that we’ve done that, I will proceed with my blog post. On my top ten list of the cutest things ever known to mankind, Asian children are on this list. While all children are cute to some degree, I believe that Asian children are the cutest. They have a contagious energy, but also release a peculiar calm presence, which is what makes them intriguing and adorable to me.

We can learn much more from children than we ever could with adults. They talk, live, breathe, SEE the world in a pure and untainted way. Even though they are confined underneath the care taking of their parents, they are free to imagine. They are free to release inner curiosity. They are free. Adulthood can leave us feeling broken, poisoned, restless and mundane. Next time you see a child, watch their actions. (But don’t watch in a creepy way…) Look at the way they see the world. Society tells us that once we notice the “real world”, childhood is gone, and that our inner curiosity should be squashed in order to “move on” into maturity.

But really, our way of thinking and childlike perspective is never gone. It’s still there, and always will be. It just becomes hidden underneath the layers of our adulthood conformity. Our inner curiosity has not vanished. I believe this is best represented in one of my favorite films, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The scene that I am referring to is when Joel is able to escape into the depths of his memory and place himself into specific moments when he was a child. He splashes around in the rain, plays in his backyard, hides underneath his kitchen table, and instantly begins to feel the same feelings and curiosity that he had as a child. His childlike mindset was present in his memory all along, he just had to dig deep to find it and become himself again.

And so, as I begin to make very “adultlike” decisions in the next few months, as well as for the rest of my life, I hope I can bring out my inner child, my inner curiosity. I still remember being four years old, and I have exceptionally vivid memories of specific events and emotions that were felt in my childhood. I may not be able to fit into small spaces or lose baby teeth anymore, but I am still free to imagine. I am still free to release my inner curiosity. I am still the same person that I was at four years old, and I hope that never changes.

This was day 六七.

HK66六六

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:00:01 -0500

Sometimes what we regard as ugly, is indeed quite beautiful.

This was day 六六.

HK65六五

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:08:00 -0500

Another cool thing about Asia: WILD MONKEYS! It’s incredible to watch them interact as families, a clan, a group of beings loving and taking care of one another. Mothers protect their babies, as babies scavenge for food. But if you give the monkeys eye contact, they sense confrontation, and could possibly attack if they feel harmed in any way. While we may not be the same species (or perhaps we are?), we live, breathe, feel and love the same. And OMGHOWADORABLEARETHEBABYMONKEYS! Photos taken from my awesome photographer roommate, Jessica Sornson.

This was day 六五.

HK64六四

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:12:16 -0500

In Hong Kong, the traffic light sequence is as follows: green, yellow, red, yellow, green. I apologize for this incredibly mundane post, but it was an incredibly mundane day.

This was day 六四.

HK63六三

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 09:37:00 -0500

As I begin to mentally prepare myself for the oh so wonderfully comfortable 16 hour plane ride back to America next week, I realized that I will be living out of my suitcase for the next 12 weeks. Hong Kong -> China -> Russia -> Arctic Ocean -> Alaska -> Canada -> Chicago -> Cincinnati -> Atlanta -> Savannah -> Charlotte -> New York City -> Charlotte -> Savannah -> Atlanta -> Savannah -> Florida -> Savannah -> ??

This was day 六三.