Palo Alto - Pleasant People!

The crowd of Palo Alto Festival of Arts 2009 was the most pleasant of all the outside art fairs I have attended as a vendor. Each community has its own character, and some are more pleasant than the others. Spending Saturday and Sunday on the street, I find Palo Alto's people educated, well mannered, and calm. On a contrary, I had been to the places, especially in South Florida, where the majority of people were already pissed (very angry) for no reason. It is no fun at all to be surrounded by angry rude people and try to sell stuff to them. In average art fairs go on for two days and it is not fun to be stuck in my booth in that unpleasant environment for two days. This time, although the sale was not that great, I didn't have the draining feeling at the end of the fair as I packed up my booth. Yes, being an outside vendor is physically tiring, being have to get up at 4 AM and coming home late at night, but to me, the hardest part is the dealing with the rude and narrow minded people, but there was just no such thing in the entire interaction with the people in Palo Alto. My "overly unique" work was well received with tons of complements and about a dozen sales. Needless to say, I will be definitely going back there.

Review by collageart.org

This is cited from the actual page. Texts by Gennielynn Martin.

http://www.collageart.org/reviews/sudo.htm

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Momoko Sudo at the Center on Contemporary Art July 9th - August 8th, 2009

Momoko Sudo’s exhibition at CoCA saturates the gallery with an ambiance of quietude and poise while simultaneously stimulating one’s imagination. The 26 works showcasing Sudo’s talent as painter and collagist highlight the compassionate and courageous manner in which she expresses herself.

Sudo’s collages, measuring between 9”x 9” and 18”x18”, embrace serenity, tranquility and play. Surrounded by Sudo’s line-scape works, the collages enjoy the rich colors and the variety of shapes of their components. Neither cluttered nor busy, their spirit and temperament evidence unity, certainty, and wisdom.

After the delicate colorful papers are shaped, areas painted, and found objects applied, the collages are coated with layers of resin varnish. In some works this final step calls attention to the elements while in others like Palace Night, the materials are intentionally veiled beneath a lingering fog, whispering to the viewer and artist that they have been transformed into a state of well being, never to be disturbed again.

Sudo’s larger line-scape paintings are all-embracing. When following the numerous thin lines strategically flowing and waving serenely across a canvas of once uncharted territory, one may find themselves being drawn into those invisible, immobile spaces on the canvas which the artist did not disrupt, choosing instead to leave them to be steeped in nature's own light. This is where the artist's gift for perfection becomes evident. It's here where she has fused the art of motion and stillness into one entity.

The Center On Contemporary Art, with its composed, picturesque setting looking across the blue waters of the Puget Sound, provides an appropriate setting with Ms. Sudo's quiet and thoughtful works.

COCA curator and former president Joseph Roberts with some of Momoko Sudo's collages. Photo: G. Martin

- Gennielynn Martin, 8.5.2009

The Painting Gourmet Show Interview

The Painting Gourmet Show Interview

Pills R Us

Strings Attached #3

Center on Contemporary Art (COCA) in Seattle

Nature (and Food) Capsuled in Resin

If you see an ashtray, you may possibly a smoker.

Pine Cones Captured

A resin "stuff dish" with pine cones. Sold.

Hello from California

Hello from California!

As of May 2009 I no longer live in the WRONG city in a wrong state. I’ve had it and don’t even want to type the name of the wrong city! Let’s just not talk about it. I am now in "Bay Area" of California, still browsing the area.

Walnut Creek, CA 2009 ( Click here for more images in Flickr)

A Cat Who Crossed the Continent

I know some people take their cats with them when they move. But I am sure not so many people put a wild stray screaming dirty cat in a car and drive 3,100 miles for six days through broiling hot southern desert states near Mexican borders. A litter box was a new thing to this poor little old creature, and being contained in a vehicle with this distressed cat certainly pushed me to the edge. By the time I reached the destination the cat, Lulu, looked so weak, confused, and all the friendliness was totally gone. The cat was scared to death, and it appeared the end of the world was near.

My host family generously allowed Lulu to live in their backyard. Then Lulu vanished shortly after. I didn’t see her one night and then the following days I didn’t see the cat. As I made an effort to find her I also prepared that I would never see the cat again, considering how confusing and stressful it might have been to the cat who is estimated 17 years of age and never left a small section of the tropical residential area all her life. I regretted that I took her with me this far. “If I left her in the land she had lived all her life, she did not have to die like this,” I reasoned.

Just as I slowly processed those feelings, Lulu abruptly came back. I suppose she had to explore the area before feeling safe. Now Lulu is a happy elderly Californian outside cat.

Now What?

I have some adjustments to make to the unfamiliar climate I had never experienced before. I am dressed as if I am in February NYC in one moment, and in a matter of hours, suddenly I must take off (nearly) all clothes because it is now hot. Climate here is an irregularly alternating micro-summer and micro-winter, and on top of that, nearby cities may have different temperatures as different as 20 degrees. While I lived in the humid wrong city, foot powder was one of the most important products for me, but here I don’t even think about it because of its dry climate here. And it doesn’t rain. This climate appears to be a very uncomfortable place for mosquitoes.

My work studio has not been fully set up yet. This is a photo taken from my temporary rental studio that is built far backyard of an artist's home.Yes, the studio comes with a swimming pool, garden, and two black cats with yellow eyes.

I've booked some art fairs for June and am working on more in the following months. Calender here.

I can't tell you how I like California so far. I am still trying to figure that out. It hasn't been even a month since my arrival - too short of time to conclude such a thing. On the other hand, I haven't been able to find anything particularly to complain about. And if I ever have to complain about something, people here understand English!

Walnut Creek, CA 2009

Pizza for One

I don't know what took so long for this to be sold. I always thought it was a well done piece with appealing colors and composition. And hundreds of people liked it but it took a long time to sell. This actually is "Pizza for One #2," Bhich was finally sold at an art festival at Key Biscayne. I used to eat the frozen and microwavable small pizza, called "Pizza for One," often because it's convenient, inexpensive, and also a doable size for a snack or in-a-hurry meal. As a hoarder I was thinking of making a series of art called "Pizza for One" by using the package boxes. Below is the "Pizza for One #1." Unfortunately I ate too much of "Pizza for One" and got tired of it after a while. Also, I wanted to eat healthier food than frozen pizza. But that wasn't the actual reason why I didn't continue making more "Pizza for One" pieces. I just got too busy for other things. Anyway, a friend of mine bought "Pizza for One #1" a few years ago, and finally #2 was sold last week. I think I made them on 2006. To me, that's a long time ago. It is much fun to make them than try selling them. But I am glad some people liked them enough to purchase them. I think our society is full of packagings, and I find it so wasteful. They spend so much resources both the cost and materials just to package the products, and the packagings are thrown away. So I wanted to resist that just a little bit. Pizza for One #1