Like a child with a sweet tooth drooling on a jar of rainbow candies, I am drawn to craft shows, which seem to promise fortunes with eye-candy products. As a visual artist, I tend to think that I can make almost everything and anything that are on display at an art & design storefront. This dangerous and overly pretentiousness has been an ongoing bitter sweet problem because (1)- I can never buy a product that wows me, and (2)- I always waste time & money by attempting to re/make it. Regardless, I don't think I can ever get my tongue off the sweetness of crafting, because it gives me a tremendous JOY making things for the sake of just making. Plus, I get to hang out with good friends who share similar passion for pop-up storefront, and when weather permits, it can be quite magical.
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LittlEmotions with Nayoun, Toronto 2011 |
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Chez-Toi with Lan, Toronto 2013 |
I've lived most of my life caught in between two cultures (this needs another serious post dedicated to it), and now I realized that since MFA, I've drifted in another betweeness, that of fine & craft art. I believe it was perhaps my denial for the 'real world' right after a master program that made me to daydream by crafting. My first 'product' was ZingZing, the Crying Pillow that
cries for you and with you. Perhaps I needed to cry facing the reality, but my intention was, really, to give hope to others in need. (and... also to make some money by selling them).
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This tear shaped plush is very gentle with blushing cheeks and squinted
dark eyes.
ZingZing carries a tissue in his back-pocket for your tears
of joy and sorrow.
(you can add letters, pictures, anything else you
want in it!) |
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First craft show with Zing Zing family, Montreal 2009 |
In 2009, I gave myself a new name, Zihhy, as a craftsperson who creates fun objects with fabric. (Well, actually Zihhy came to world in late 90's as I attempted to di/spell my Korean name.) My first Etsy store (http://zihhy.etsy.com) opened following my first craft show where I sold half of my Zing Zing inventory. The Etsy store was tricky. I didn't know the importance of product renews, variety, refreshing uploads, and self-promotions. My lack of business skill totally made my remaining Zing Zings cry in the storage.
The Zing Zings evolved as I continued to show them in Toronto. In an attempt to raise the price, I replaced the tissue paper in the back-pocket with a handkerchief. Although I was confident that the $5 jack-up would make the product more valuable and desirable, I learned a lesson by coming back home with all my stock of Zing Zings, which were desired by so many potential customers who walked away after reading the price tag.
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I cuddle with you when you cry watching a sad movie, catch a cold, or even when you have a broken heart. |
Craft show is a business. You need to problem solve, come up with new ideas, and must have a line of products in different range of prices. Hence, the birth of mini-Zing Zings at a lovely price of $12!! And can you tell? The funky bunny heads are actually from the unused blossom petals from my artwork 'Once Upon Camellia Blossoms'! With limited storage space, I really had to get rid of my Zing Zing army, so their price was lowered by $10, and they were pretty much all sold out.
Perhaps I should've done this full-time, without guilt, then I now would probably be the 'mother' of factory-made Zing Zings, exporting overseas and making good profit. (hmmm.. maybe it's not too late..?) Juggling with time in writing applications, making work, showing at exhibitions, energy-draining part-time job, house chores, and bla bla bla, I continued to drift in the wonder of craft art, yet this time I decided to make 'functional artworks'.
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The birth of 'Tick-Tock Canvas', Toronto 2013 |
I usually paint when I'm out of inspiration. Past few years, I've enjoyed painting on small gallery wrapped canvas, which usually ended up as gifts for my loving ones. As a visual artist, I thrive in creating work that connects to the general public. Turning a painting into a functional decor item seemed to be a natural way to appraoch and appeal to customers. When I decided to sell these as my next 'it' item at craft shows, I started painting for the sake of decor with a mind that it will be an inspirational source for people on daily basis. (Who doesn't look at a wall clock at least once a day?) My problem rose when I started really having fun in creating them, (the painting that is) and was hesitating to drill a hole in the middle to insert the clock mechanism. They were already good as is, more valuable, (who pays $150-200 for a wall clock?!) and it was just painful to 'ruin' a perfectly good painting.
But I managed to do it. And most of them really were painted with the placement of clock-hands in mind, so they worked well as finished products. I also used sweep movement mechanism that tick-tocks in silent because I believe a painting should only talk/scream/whisper visually...
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Some of the early designs of the 'Tick-Tock Canvas' ©2013 JMinStudio |
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Zing Zing (ZZ-005) ©2009 Zihhy |
Oh! I should not forget my infamous 'fortune-cookie-card-kits' and
'finger-spelling-drawings' when talking about my guilty pleasures. But
it's getting late, and they deserve their own full page dedicated to them only, so hopefully I keep
updating this blog to one day write about them in full.
With the start of this blog, I hope I finally get to distinguish my two lives, and keep producing whether it is escapism, distraction, or guilty pleasure. Who knows, this current & ongoing struggle might just be a long process for a much bigger project in near future.
In the end, life is like a jar of candies (or a box of chocolate!),
you never know what you're gonna get. I just gotta pick it up and suck it, till I find out.