#it's been downhill since 2020 in the art department

[auro-cyanide]

Honestly I did more drawing then I expected, granted 99% is floating bust sketches...

I miss 2017

[readingforsanity]

Great and Precious Things | Rebecca Yarros | Published 2020 | *SPOILERS*

How do you define yourself when others have already decided who you are?

Six years ago, when Camden Daniels came back from war without his younger brother, no one in the small town of Alba, Colorado, would forgive him - especially his father. He left, swearing never to return.

But a desperate message from his father brings it all back. The betrayal. The pain. And the need to go home again. But home is where the one person he still loves is waiting. Willow. The one woman he can never have. Because there are secrets buried in Alba that are best left in the dark.

If only he could tell his heart to stay locked away when she whispers she's always loved him, and always will.

Great and Precious Things is a heart-wrenching story about family, betrayal and ultimately how far we're willing to go on behalf of those who need us most.

After serving nearly 10 years in the Army, Camden Daniels is returning to the one place he vowed never to come back to: his home of Alba, Colorado. A small town that relies mostly on tourist revenue to make it through the rest of the year, Camden hasn't set foot in the town since his younger brother, Sullivan, died during an ambush in Afghanistan, one that Camden has spent the last 6 years feeling massive guilt over, as he feels that he had a hand in Sully's death.

He has decided to return after receiving a voicemail from his father, whom he hasn't spoken to in that time as he also blamed him for Sullivan's untimely departure. Now, after being diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer's, and with Xander, his oldest son, as his medical power of attorney denying him the request to have a do-not-resuscitate order, Camden is heading home for the final time.

In the first few moments of his return to Alba, Camden reunites with his best friend Gideon Hall, who is now working for the police department alongside his father, Tim. When they get the call that Arthur Daniels has left his home and has gone missing from the woman who spends the most time with him, Dorothy, the two men return back to Camden's childhood home only to realize that not only has Art wondered off in a moment where he isn't lucid, but that he has also located the key to the gun safe and has taken his shotgun with him.

Knowing exactly where Art is heading, Camden and Xander come up with a plan to ensure that they both return back with their father safely, but it all goes downhill once Camden realizes who his father is aiming the shotgun at: Willow Bradley. The Bradley's and the Danielses have lived on neighboring property all of their lives, and Willow has been friends with the Daniels' boys since birth. She even dated Sully, having been with him at the time of his death and was completely destroyed when he returned home in a pine box.

Camden steps in front of the shotgun to protect Willow, and despite her coming to terms with never seeing him again, Willow is thrilled to have Camden back home. Despite everything in her past with his younger brother, Willow has secretly harbored a love for Camden for as long as she could remember, even if Camden never reciprocated those feelings back to her. Little to her knowledge, Camden has also been harboring his own love for her since he was about 16, but came to terms with the fact that Willow chose Sullivan, and he would never do anything to hurt his brother.

When Art pulls the trigger and shoots Camden, not realizing that it is his middle son he has just shot, Willow thinks that Cam's life is over, only to realize that he was wearing a bullet proof vest underneath his clothes. Left with only a few bruises, Cam is fine otherwise.

Thus begins the story of Willow and Cam coming to terms with the love they have for each other, and Cam fighting with his older brother in order to provide his father with the last big of dignity he has left in his life despite his diagnosis. Xander, now the town mayor after serving his own tour of duty in the military, doesn't want to give Art this last bit of control over his own body, saying that he is unable to make a decision for himself. Cam resigns himself for the time-being, instead deciding to provide to the town and the Historical Society the Rose Rowan Building as well as the Rose Rowan Mine, which has been in his family for as long as he could remember. Vowing to restore both the building and the mine to open up to tours during the tourist season, the town begins to think that Cam might not be as bad as they always thought he was.

But, in doing so, Cam realizes that Willow is choosing him over her own family. Her older sister, Charity, had already been deemed the family black sheep when she became pregnant and had a baby out of wedlock, now a mother to 9-year-old Rose, aptly named after the mine itself. Willow was the golden child, dating the golden boy, but her life quickly spiraled after Sully's death, and she eventually decided to defy her father's wishes and instead of going off to earn her law degree, turned to art and graphic design. When she steps up and offers to help Camden with the restoration of both historical properties, she becomes the town pariah, just like him.

The two of them begin to spend more and more time together, and when Camden finally reveals that he has been in love with her for as long as he could remember, Willow also admits the same and the two of them start a relationship. This does not go over well with not only the townspeople, who see Willow as "Sullivan's girl" despite him having been dead for the last 6 years, but because her family is one of the "founding families" of the town, and is quite prominent. But despite all of this, she chooses to remain by Cam's side.

When a brief encounter with a town bully causes Cam to lose his temper, he tells Willow that she must leave him, though he doesn't want her to, but to avoid the gossip that will inevitably begin attacking her as well, and she loves the town which is why she chose to return after college. But, stubborn as she always has been, she refuses to give up on Camden, and their relationship continues.

Camden has decided that he needs to fight for his father's dignity and chooses to sue his brother for guardianship over their father. During the court hearing, anything and everything that Cam had done wrongly in the past is thrown at him, and despite the judge being clearly on Cam's side, she cannot legally give him guardianship as Xander has not been deemed unfit or neglectful of their father's care, so thus he will remain as Art's guardian.

On the soft opening of the mine, that Cam has worked diligently to get ready for the big Fourth of July celebrations in Alba, Willow's 9-year-old niece decides to go in search of a gold unicorn pin that Willow had lost when she herself became lost in the mine when she was just 9-years-old. She had fallen down a ventliation shaft, and Cam ran in, found her and pulled her to safety, only for the town to believe that he had broken her nose, and was trying to prove himself worthy by saving her.

Art, in a moment of lucidity, shows them to the shaft. According to Art, it is where the oldest and the youngest of the mine's intersect, and despite current maps not showing this shaft, Art knows the mines better than anyone. They are able to locate Rose, and get her to safety, but shortly after, the ground underneath Art crumbles underneath him. Gideon and Cam try desperately to pull him to safety, but he keeps telling Cam to let him go. Cam claims that he cannot make that choice for him, and that that choice is for him to make. Satisfied that his want is now being heard and Cam is taking it seriously, they are able to pull Art to safety.

But in doing so, Willow and Cam realize that there is a door to the room, and that Willow fell because she had been unable to open it. There was no handle on the inside of the shaft, and they also notice dried blood the color of rust on the door. Willow now realizes and remembers exactly what happened that day: Xander, who had been in the mine with them, turned off his headlamp and pushed her through the door, closing it behind him, hitting her in the face, breaking her nose. Xander, who was 14-years-old at the time, simply wanted the notoriety that would have come with finding the lost 9-year-old girl in the mine, but Cam ruined that plot when he stole the headlamp from him and ran in to find her.

Xander admits everything, and eventually, Cam also relays to his father the truth about what happened the night of Sullivan's death. He had been there, and he had chosen his squad leader for a mission, unknowingly. Had he chose the other squad leader to his right, Sullivan likely would have survived, but in the middle of a war battle, it would be hard to tell. Art finally forgives his son, after blaming him for many years, and Camden decides to confront Xander with the truth.

Prior to the trial, he had their baby teeth tested for the gene of Alzheimer's that Art is now battling. Sullivan had the gene, as does Xander. Camden does not have the gene. With this information, Xander decides to give guardianship over to his younger brother, knowing that Cam will make the right choices for both Art and himself when the time comes.

In the end, Willow and Cam continue on with their relationship. Though it is not discussed in the book, I believe they will go on to get married and continue the love story that began so long ago.

[genuflectx]

Just wanna rant about my job a bit, will probably delete this later. But I think I may quit my job within the next month or so u_u’

Originally when I joined this job last year it was under originations- I helped people apply and get approved for loans, or offered general tech support when they needed help with the process online. I felt like I was helping these nice old people, they were rarely mean (save for the occasional grouchy old man after he gets rejected), and the work load was decent. Not too heavy, not too boring. 

Then the pandemic hit. My entire team, which had been hired only a few months before, were rushed in for “accelerated training” on the credit card support department. I believe it was just like 4 weeks of training for a tooootally different workflow. We worked in the servicing department for what, maybe a month? Then they furloughed a ton of people and managers and moved us AGAIN, this time to collections. So calling to collect debts on our credit card product. When I joined this company it was under the understanding I did NOT want to do collections because it makes me sad and feel shitty. But they promised us we would be transferred back to originations after a bit, so whatever.

Slowly things have gone downhill since. Just tiny things adding up. They implemented a internet speed minimum requirement, which is understandable working from home, but we lost another good chunk of people who got fired for that, some who I’d made friends with. Hell, I got THREATENED with firing due to this, forcing us to run an Ethernet cable through 2 stories of our house. And I was PISSED because I was the only one on the team making a 100% average on QA scores. Then a few people quit, leaving only 3 people from my original originations team. They hired a new manager to oversee work force management (WFM) and quality assurance (QA) around this point and I’m CONVINCED it got worse because of her changes...

They changed our outbound dialing system to a cheaper one, promising all these improvements, and who woulda guessed... the quality of work life barely improved with this piece of crap tech but hey, it cut costs. Next they dismantled the debt management company department (DMC) and trained us in it so we’re technically trained for and work in two departments. On top of the promise that in the far future that they will cross-train us with the loan department too, a totally different product. We also have to do the emails for our department as well.

Then things got bad. Non stop calls for a months. Likely related to the unfortunate weather disasters in our outsourced locations. The outbound dialer, which is an autodialer that WFM loads up with late people to auto-call, starting filling up with impossible amounts of people to call for our agent count. We started going from 5000 to call every few hours to 10,000. And it doesn’t matter if we don’t clear the queue, they will load more in at certain times of the day. So we’d get 10,000 at 1pm, we’d get it down to 3,000 by 5pm, and they’d just load it back up to 10,000 again. 

Then they added on the mandatory overtime. Everyone in our department either has to do a half shift extra on either saturday or sunday- with mine being on saturday. Another person quit (down to 2 from my original team). We’re understaffed as hell and they tell us that they’re FINALLY training a new class. And know what? They ONLY enacted the OT and got a new class because their service levels were down. Service levels are a mandatory legal level of how many agents per how many customers we have, they get in legal trouble when it drops too far for too long. They didn’t give a shit about our stress until their damn legal agreement dropped and then forced the OT on us. Wow. We feel so appreciated. 

And THEN the OT was supposed to go until Feb 14th- today. THEY EXTENDED IT ANOTHER WEEK. 

And and and a few days after they told us it was extended these dudes LAY OFF 3 managers, including our team’s manager, who I REALLY liked, and stuck us into the team of a manager who is notorious for giving out incorrect policy info! Why! >:( 

Some other small things they’ve done that have added up slowly: They sent me a “nice” alluminum mug for my high QA score. Stuck it in the washer once and the pretty gold lettering on the front melted. It also leaks. They do these “thank you” videos some time where the upper management (never faces you recognize save for 2 or 3). BUT they made us watch this 10 minute long “thank you” Christmas video BETWEEN CALLS instead of scheduling time for us to do it like usual. Due to the short staffing, they changed how our weekly meetings with our manager/team go. Instead of having the whole team go into a meeting with her twice per week, they made her split this into 3 smaller meetings once per week, so that 2 or 3 team members meet with her at a time (more people on the floor to take calls). It spread her thin- before they laid her off of course. After they enacted the OT a week or so into it one of the upper management people sent us all an email telling us we basically weren’t doing good enough because our collections numbers weren’t high enough.. KNOWING we’re under staffed, she still emailed that. Come on.

So ya know what? My fiance and friends have encouraged me to just move on. This company isn’t what it was when I started a year ago, and idk if it’s legit just due to covid or if this WFM/QA overseer that they hired near the end of 2020 is fully to blame. I hate hearing customers tell me day in day out about their family dying, about being homeless/evicted. I hate old ladies screaming at me because they can’t comprehend that WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC and the MAIL WILL BE LATE, so their damn paper checks need to be mailed out at least 2-3 weeks in advanced- OR THEY COULD JUST CALL AND PAY LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE. Tired of people insulting me and calling me names because THEY’RE late and THEY missed a payment and they can’t accept responsibility- because they think screaming at someone making a few bucks over min wage will do anyone any good or make their shitty credit score any better.

All this mandatory OT and my nice manager being fired has put a lot of stress on me, if the other crap wasn’t enough. We’re really financially stable in this household even if I did quit, even if I’d feel guilty af. And it could be months before I found another job as safe and well-paying as this one, but at least my mental health would recover.

So I have about a day of sick time and 80 hours of PTO. My plan is to hopefully schedule out all 80 hours, or at least 85% of my PTO if I can, then when I come back to put in a 1 week notice. By then the new agents will be in full swing. I can get the money from the PTO I earned at this shit collections job and then try and move on to bigger and better things. And in the mean time while looking, I can work on art/writing and I can also possibly get a new car with all the money we’ve saved up. My mama and granny might end up disapproving and judge me but 2020 was such a shit year and I’m tired of this. I feel like this job is taking advantage of us and legit just doesn’t give a crap about their employees.

Okay! Well that’s outta my system! Bleck

[autismineducation]

Argh... I’m the whiteboard marker pirate!

Yes I know, weird title but I promise it will make sense when I explain the story. As most people are aware some children with Autism are unaware of the extent of their feelings and the best way to express them to others around them. 

It was the last day of Term 1, and James* had done so well all week considering the structure of classroom activities was a little lacklustre in the last couple of days on the term. He had been rarely difficult the entire week, regularly sitting on the floor with the other kids and getting involved in the hands-on tasks that were put forth in maths and art. 

As I am sure you have already guessed from previous posts that James* is able to learn and understand life skills by completing tasks using on-hands learning, rather than regular written worksheets. These include using games and activities such as GoNoodle and Mathletics which has him learning, without realising he is learning. 

As the day was coming to a close after a variety of different lessons; including a dice game which was teaching him the concept of ‘chance’ and ‘important words’ in reading which asks the students to recognise what drives certain stories forward. James was quite involved with both of these, while he may have become disinterested after a period of time, he was starting to understand the reason of each task and was enjoying himself. So all these happy feelings had to stop somewhere..... and that is where art came in.

Now based on my first blog post you must be thinking, how could art be an issue, James loves art! Well unfortunately things don’t work out the way to always plan them to and James decided today would be the day he would have a meltdown.

To put it simply there is a difference between a tantrum and an autistic meltdown and Judy Endow describes it perfectly;

“[Since an] autistic meltdown is the body’s attempt to gain equilibrium by expending energy, safety concerns often loom large. In fact, safety becomes the focus of attention during the autistic meltdown. The goal for the support person at the height of a meltdown is to ensure safety, knowing the meltdown will continue until the energy is spent. There is no stopping a meltdown in progress.” (Endow, 2015)

The major difference between an autistic meltdown and a tantrum is that a tantrum requires an audience and will normally conclude if the child is given what they want (however, I don’t condone this). Autistic meltdown is the need for the child to release pent up energy which has been created due to sensory overload. There are many different strategies which can be used to slow the meltdown and I think the below can help if you are ever in the situation. (Barloso, 2020)

Remove the student from the classroom which therefore removes their audience

Use a low calm voice, children with autism are able to sense the frustration in your tone and this will not help

Keep yourself at arm’s length and avoid restraining the student from self-abuse (unfortunately it looks worse to the Education Department if they get hurt with you holding them than not)

Avoid giving in; while this might be easier, it will not help their logic in the long run

Lastly, use calming objects such as fidget spinners or weighted blankets as this gives them a sense of security and distraction. (James has a similar version to the below)

Coming back to the James, is our last 1 hour of the term we were required to draw out a pirate following along with the steps presented by the below video; James was extremely engaged and even started drawing the image from memory while the rest of the classroom were following along with the second viewing of the video. 

I was thoroughly impressed and thought this was the best way to finish off the term but that all went downhill when he wanted to use my ‘special pen’ (a black marker),while trying to explain to him that this was my own pen that I brought from home and he had his own pencils he could use, this is when the tears and yelling began. 

As I was not planning to give in, he decided to get up, grab and start drawing his pirate drawing with the teachers whiteboard markers on PAPER! When I told him this wasn’t appropriate the real tantrum began - and as I had read the referenced sources prior to starting my job, I was aware that this was a regular tantrum compared to a autistic meltdown. 

So still using the aforementioned strategies, I removed him from the classroom, stood an arm’s length away and explained in a low voice that he would not be getting the special pen not matter how many times he said ‘please’ and it was not right to take someone’s things without consulting them first. 

While this did work when outside of the classroom, each time he saw his pirate drawing he was reminded and we would have to go through the same motions once again. 

The main point to take away from this story is that the above strategies may not always work to the full extent - but it will give you enough time to calm them down and think of your next move to avoid the ongoing tantrum.

Barloso, K, (2020). ‘Managing Autism Meltdowns, Tantrums and Aggression’. Autism Parenting Magazine. 16 April 2020 https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autism-meltdowns/#How_to_deal_with_a_temper_tantrum

Endow, J. (2015). ‘Autistic Meltdown or Temper Tantrum?’ Olliebean. 26 February 2015. https://ollibean.com/autistic-meltdown-or-temper-tantrum/

[fuzaointerviewproject]

Online project | #01 Conversation between Xiao longhua&Strongman

Strongman ask questions, and Xiao longhua answer

SM: Strongman

Longhua: Xiaolonghua

Sm: Before and after the new year of 2020, in addition to moving to a new apartment and staying at home, doing the qurantine for the COVID-19 epidemic, have you created the new works? In 2020 do you have plans to create new fun exhibitions and new editorial projects?

Longhua: Well, The biggest creation this year should be the renovation of my apartment. The new publication project is the "great migration" catalog, and at the moment, with the designer Bai Kui, we are preparing the design plan for the catalog.

In addition to this, following the latest conceptual book "The blind man who touches the elephant" of 2019, we are also working on a new book "Kuafu chased the sun".

Conceptual book "The blind man who touches the elephant"

During the Covid-19 epidemic, I also participated in the creation of the Yanshu book project "Never Ending".

The “Great migration” series installation

Sm: You graduated from the Oil Painting Department, you said you don’t wanted anymore to paint in oil and the human body after graduation. Can you talk about the advantages and disadvantages of university education in China and why are you so opposed to these test-based education methods?

Longhua: I speak “me”personally, I don't like the outdated educational method and the occlusive atmosphere of the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, I believe that anyone who has studied art in China has the same experience. After seven years of so-called disciplinary training, when I arrived at university, I thought about the previous model of utilitarian education, which was training on "technology", but education on "aesthetics" was far from sufficient.

The painting by Xiaolonghua 

With the opening of the market and the opening of my point of view, this educational method became even more obsolete, therefore, after three years of study on oil painting, I have a profound prejudice against this method. I could not be creative freely in class and I had to conform to the "classic" unified format, the same as everyone else.

Sm: You have collected countless large monsters and small monsters(Sm means toy monster). I remember that you are always demanding about certain shapes and have formed your own unique toy aesthetic. How does the training and collection of these toys influence your art creation?

Longhua: The main range of my monster collection are monsters in special films shot by Japanese production companies such as Toho, Daiei, Shochiku and Maruya. With the deepening of the collection, in addition to the Western Harryhausen series, most of the monsters in my collection date back to the years 1954-1971.

The shapes of the monsters at that time were very special: people wore disguises to perform on the stage which purposely imitated the real environment, and the films shot when the technology was not particularly developed had a "defective" aesthetic.

Toy collections of Xiao longhua

I think that, due to the limitations of some technologies, they are more stimulating made in this way for human imagination.

In terms of style, I very much agree with Tōru Narita's three monster design principles: monsters are not demons. I don't make monsters that have so many hands, so many legs and so many heads! I don't only enlarge animals! I don't make monsters that destroy the body and disgust people!

Toy collections of Xiaolonghua

In my way of creating sculptures and paintings, I also pursue this type of modeling full of sincerity, strong vitality and imagination.

SM: You told me that you never paint erotic works. I have always been curious about why you always reject this theme?

Xiaolonghua: I haven't specifically refused, but I'm not good at drawing them. There are hardly any female figures in my creations.

Sm: In general, what is your creative process? What details strike you to make a work and series of works?

Longhua: After years of artistic creation, I gradually formed a set of my creative methods.

1.Collecting materials I usually went to different markets every week, in the antiques market, the grocery market and the home appliances market, and occasionally I went to some demolition sites, where everyone collects creative materials and I find inspiration, except for the materials that can i buy. Furthermore, physical participation, interaction with the outside world and the rich market environment have an impact on my artistic creation. While walking on weekdays, I also paid attention to the ground or what people left on the road.

2.As the material accumulates, I like to dialogue with it and let the objects acquire a strong personality and create new relationships through me which I do as a bridge. Slowly the works "Assorted", "Great Migration" and others have formed. I will spend a lot of time in the studio studying and manipulating these objects, leaving some relatively satisfactory combinations.

The “Assorted” series installation

3.When I am relaxed, I draw some sketches, but in the process of combining materials, several times, I do not completely follow the sketches, I assemble them according to the intuition of that moment. At this point, I try again and again. Each part of the child represents a portion of the whole, which is why it can bring me a lot of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

Sm: It has always seemed to me that you are the type of person who organizes life well also with regard to artistic work, in a very orderly way, so that most of your works do not have many references to the chaos that I see outside . Why do you divide these two things so clearly?

Longhua: The area I live in is one of the most vibrant areas in Shanghai. In fact, in this type of scene, it is inevitable to deal with various people, on which I place my daily gaze.

Xiao longhua’s studio in Shanghai, China

The types of movies and TV series that I love to watch also represent people's daily lives. But when I create, I have to transform this everyday life to make it separate from reality. Only under the constant heating of the flames of life and reality, for example, can the hot air balloon of artistic creation "float".

SM: I wondered if you had ever encountered any difficulties or frustrations when creating art. In this case, can you give an example?

Longhua: The artistic creation process for me is just a search for yourself. You are very frustrated when you discover that your artistic creation is limited and not completely and perfectly connected with yourself. I often encounter many obstacles when I explore outside my habitat, but these parts must be slowly digested by me and will not be visible to everyone.

SM: After your 35 years, you have a sense of having wasted or lost something? Have the various expectations of your youth changed along with changes in life?

Xiaolonghua: When I played basketball, of course, I felt a decline in fitness and that occasionally made me very depressed. Compared to the impulses of being young where you run on the street, I am now pursuing a path along a slow stream, leaving me more time to think and absorb, with the ambition to become more and more precise.

SM: Haha, you have a bottle of "thousand year old water" at your house, every time I go to paint you always tell me that you haven't changed it for many years. Do you think you still keep it now that you've just moved?

Xiaolonghua: "the thousand-year-old water" can reduce color saturation very well, I could use it to draw the color shade I like. But recently I haven't used acrylic anymore, so "the thousand year old water" is dry as a "millefeuille".

SM: I remember one year ago you still refused to enter the world of the Internet, you used your super old phone as a communication tool. Now it seems that you too are trapped in the quagmire of smartphones, always "like" in the posts of friends on social networks. What impact does the Internet have on artistic creation? Will you accept live broadcasts or other interactive online ways to promote and create works?

Xiaolonghua: After my wife once had a headache, and I was unable to use the app to call a taxi, I decided to buy an IPHONE. So.., as you said, I was also trapped in the quagmire of smartphones and in the world of the Internet, and I can't extricate myself. This type of transformation is as exciting as a downhill rollercoaster.

The positive effect of the Internet on artistic creation is that you can communicate more with the outside world and also receive many inspirations. The negative effect is that when you pick up the phone, unconsciously, you switch back and forth between various social networks, and the duality of my work between outdoor space and study is somewhat modified: I am only around virtually. I have not yet found a solution to this lack of concreteness. The two do not equal. Regarding live broadcasts or other interactive online ways to promote and create works, dieri who are willing to try it, provided there is a suitable platform and interesting planning.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Xiao longhua ask questions, and Strongman answer

Longhua: You have always been very diligent since you were a student and have always maintained your vitality and continue to create works. During this process, have you ever felt that you were unable to move forward? How do you keep your creative desire fresh?

SM: It never seemed to me that I can't stand to support anymore, I do it mainly (sm intends to draw) to make me feel happy and satisfied. At this point, I can ignore everything, without being afraid of winning or losing, and make sure that the starting and ending points are always happy. That's all.

Self-portrait, created in Sm college period

The best way to maintain freshness and creative desire is not to take creation seriously, but to play, not be too utilitarian and satisfy, just like eating, simply eating what you want today, not taking care of others what they prefer.

Langweixian, created in 2013

Spokesman, created in 2012

Over, created in 2012

Grand plans, created in 2017

Longhua: I remember that a few years later you graduated, you said that you realized that your works of art in China could not be accepted by the public. So, you had gone to Americana to face a new adventure. What are your biggest changes in recent years? What are the differences between the American living environment and the ideal environment you imagine? Which are compatible?

SM: Those years when I lived in the United States I really experienced a lot of interesting things, at that time the world of the Internet was not "flat" as it is today, and there were not so many platforms. I have seen a variety of art museums in the United States and have traveled half America with my bicycle for more than 2 months, I left San Francisco and went to New York.

On the one hand, I had a profound vision of artistic diversity, which is well beyond the sum of the books and years of visual experience that I had accumulated in school, even a little difficult to digest, on the other hand, even my mentality has become much calmer than before, that is, become more indifferent and I don't give a shit if my job will be liked by everyone.

Bus passenger series, painted in San Francisco, USA

I thought art was a "weapon" mentality, after spending a few years in the United States, art became "clothes" for me, and I only needed it. Initially thinking that there was no longer a censorship system when I went to America, I can finally criticize the social system liberally.  But I found that there are many artists in America have the same style as me. Without restrictions, suddenly i lost the motivation to create such works, after seeing many street art and naive style exhibitions, my life in America made me miss my life in China, my old environment and my home , I discovered that I would like to trace my roots back.

 San Francisco’s landscapes, sketch work

My friends and schoolmates they has became illustrators and artists in the "international popular style", but instead I hope to pursue a more primitive form of autoart.

It would be especially natural for me to form this state. There could be two reasons: one is that I am a primitive creature. The second is that I think it is particularly stupid to paint in that "international popular style", and of course I have to keep my distance from them. Life in America was truly free and the professionalism of the teachers is generally better than that of China. I predicted it, but I discovered that I am not really a person who cannot learn through professional "education".

Songhe Figure, created in San Francisco

Lobster Train, created in San Francisco

Going to university in America is just like going to high school. You cannot arrive late for the lesson (credits will be deducted). And so I had resumed my old business, I always used a thousand excuses for not going to class and not doing homework. I always went out of town and hid in the mountains and drew landscapes, or went to the body drawing workshop to draw.

Body sketching series, created in San Francisco

Longhua: You like Bruticus（Bruticus is a character who was the first combinator created by the mad scientist Shockwave in the anime Transformers series) in the Chinese civilian toy collection industry, what do you think is the real charm of the collection for you? What do you think the value of toys is? Can you choose three or five of your favorite toy collections and tell the story how they were found?

SM: Hahahhah ... what a Bruticus !! in fact, I had never seriously thought about the charm of toy collections. I'm just buying them from all over the world. In fact, if you think about it, this feeling is like the same mentality when you were a kid at the school entrance, you bought toys at a small dirty shop, felt the fun of the toy that you can buy with your money and you lacked super cool toys they are in the shop window that you can't buy with your money, so far I have not yet bought very expensive toys for my childhood complaints. The value of toys is to have fun, I enjoy playing with them, that ten millionths of a second of satisfaction of putting them on the locker in my house.

“Wild taste is hard to find” collection series

The collection processes of my many collections are particularly interesting. These memories make me think that toy sellers always said "meeting fate". This pair of small ornaments was collected in different places and in different areas about three years apart, it is absurd that they can be compatible and can only be described as "meeting fate".

 "Meeting fate" series

2. The reason why my collection is particularly different from other collectors is that my "system" I see objects everywhere, in Chinese it is said I come from the sky and to the sea, whether they are toys or instruments, with their aesthetics and their natural shapes, then I put them together, I often don't give a nothing about their material, shapes or their ages. I only care if they have something in common. Based on this, I can complete the "system" and my feeling.

 "Small Decoration" Series

3. There are some toys that I bought at random: when I bought them, I thought I can save them and give them life. For example, this "duck leg" ukulele I bought in the old flea market, at 10 yuan, The neck and head are particularly similar to a duck paw, so I have restored and repainted it, and now I can even play it sometimes.

  "Duck Leg" Ukulele

"Collection" Series

 My room, when i was in American 

Longhua: If you play music, what kind of band do you want to build?

Sm:I would like to build a band that can incite the atmosphere of the whole live house, but the music should be super strange but very beautiful, like Misfits and The cramps, I can't completely free my hormones by painting, so every time I have to let off steam on the stage. I also like Togawa Jun and Rammstein a lot, I used to sing sad songs to cry a bit :p .

Screenshot of the video I made for the band

The posters series I did for the band

Of course, I thought I was starting a band, it's just that the music is too direct to express my feelings. Especially when you play live, I'm a little shy and I'm afraid to express feelings directly between people and the public.

Longhua: Your paintings are full of porn and violence and extreme expressions of social chaos. What is the origin of this repressive outbreak? Have you had a real experience in your life?

SM: I don't admit that my paintings are full of porn and violence ... I had seriously thought about this problem. These themes can represent only 30% to 40% of the content of my work. The main reason could be that porn and violence are too impressive to people, so some foreseen perspectives think my works are only these themes, if you look better at all my works, I had also painted countless landscapes and figures, these themes are much greater of those of the sensitive theme, There are also some cute animals and comics, which are not so extreme, of course, "social chaos" was born in fact randomly, it is only a branch of my artistic creation and I gave this series a name called "evil society".

 “Evil society" series

From the beginning the first works seem to have a sense of depression and full of anger: later it was more a mapping, a mapping of absurd reality and a mockery of male creatures. I believe i’m passed the punk state in adolescence, now I am using a playful way to feel the daily life.

What is the reason for this repression? Maybe read Freud you will understand better. It is really difficult to answer, I have had various experiences in my life, I remember that before going to study abroad, I was the type of person who could not sleep at night because before had read some stupid news, and I often quarreled with others people on the internet. After returning to China for a few years, my emotions seem to have changed, they are much quieter than before, but of course I was always angry, only that, only used this negative energy in my works, not in response to my physiology.

 “Cute animals” series

Longhua: I remember from many years ago you always convinced me to go out more to sketching, can you talk to us about why sketch is essential for you?

SM: Sketch is a very mental exercise, which mainly emphasizes a sort of non-reproducible "presence". 

 “Self portrait” sketch series

If you don't paint well, you will feel the frustration you don't usually create. As if you could go back to a starting point and review your work again, the randomness and unfinished sense of drawing are also fascinating. In short, there will be many unexpected accidents that belong to you. It belongs to the moment of "relief" in creation. Our annual sketch party is a particularly good entertainment event.

“Little black bear”

 "My classmates" sketch series

 "Mother of the Galaxy" Sketch Series

 “Stupid Martin”

 "Landscape" Sketch Series

Longhua: Tell us about some unforgettable alcoholic evenings.

SM：There are too many unforgettable alcoholic evenings ... (laughs) Once I was with you and uncle Zhang Fei (friend of Xiaolonghua). After finishing attending the "Yueshi" art event in Hangzhou, after having dinner and drinking a lot of alcohol, we went back to the hotels all drunk .. You dropped your uncle in bed and then you put the skateboard on your back and you were climbed onto his back to play human surf (see photo) .. then you started making a sound in the mouth like the tsunami .. and then you dragged me to the hotel corridor to continue fighting! It was the most exaggerated moment in which I saw you drinking, while we were fighting, you were only talking Shanghainese swearing! And the other time it was in the winter, I was drinking with a big guy who comes from Shandong (a province in the north of China) after drinking half a kilo of Chinese liqueur, we both felt a bit stunned, I indicated the persimmons that I just bought in I study and I said to him: "do you have the courage to eat it ?!" because we both knew that if eating them together the alcohol and persimmon can be fatal, afterwards, however, the two of us have swallowed a persimmon each without hesitation! At the time, I really thought I could die wisely, but the next day, besides being a little stunned, we were both alive and healthy.

  "Human Body Surfing" scene

Then a more recent and fun evening was at the Singularity Art Festival in Guangzhou. I had been drinking all day and intermittently, then dinner comes with all the participants and we started a fighting game with the wheel. Subsequently, ET ordered some McDonalds the night to fill the stomach, I was too drunk .. the next day I woke up and found McDonald's chicken wings in my pants pocket? !

Longhua: What is the most joyful and frustrating thing in recent years?

Sm: It seems that there is nothing that makes me feel particularly happy, and it is not too frustrating to be depressed. I like to wrap myself up. Hahaha, I hope it can be done not to be happy but not sad ~

"Mermaid" Comic Series

                                  "Xiaoluohao" Comic Series

"Shoot star" comic series

"Rain" Comic Series

"。。。。。。" Comic Series

Longhua: Your artistic creation, the toy collection, the daily dress, the lifestyle, etc..they are a system created over many years. This system is somehow closely related to the time and space in which it is now located, but it is misaligned and distant. If you could arbitrarily choose to position yourself in any space-time coordinate, how would you choose?

SM: Yes, I think that you too, like any artist, you guys have own aesthetic creation system, which is consciously built during your artistic development. I also wonder why I tend to be so different from the environment in which I find myself, because in truth it is not so. I am willing to move the coordinates of my work back and forth. 

New series

This type of collocation has its own value that cannot be copied: when I was a child, I desperately wanted to touch comics, toys, films (animations), games and fresh rock music. I always have a sense of thirst that is unsatisfactory. These interests are also caused by the culture and history of that special period. Today, children certainly do not absorb novelties in a nonconformist way as we did. Our era has lost its taste for niche things. It no longer reflects what you want, everything is already ready and you frantically swallow it. By dint of "ruminating" we have lost the desire to taste. Who knows in the future which monsters will be regurgitated by this indigestible and continuous way of binging.

New series

Longhua: Everyone will have a special year in 2020. How did you spend the time when the new coronavirus was raging? What are your plans after this?

SM:I can’t play basketball because of the epidemic. I closed myself at home and painted every day, when I was tired of painting, playing the flute or doing sports. After that, I will produce some paper books or zines. I will make some other toys this year. An animated film of over 4 minutes, I hope to do a fun show (I have to wait as the epidemic evolves),  outside of painting I'm too lazy to do everything, I'm passive, so please, give me a kick in the ass.

______________________________________________________________________

Xiao Longhua Born in 1982 in Shanghai, and now working and living in Shanghai. Works refer to paintings, devices, comics and sculptures. Xiao Longhua's works focus on exploring the interactions and possibilities of new creations between materials based on their raw shapes, textures, colors and natures, and seizing the impromptu relations.

Strongman 

Currently lives and works in Beijing.

He likes to draw pictures and collect all kinds of toys.

His creative methods are mainly painting and sketching. The prototypes of his sketching and painting are basically friends and family around him, as well as people on the street and various landscapes. His creative inspiration comes from his hobbies and his daily life.

Contact:

Instagram: xiaolonghuaer & yuweigong 

[bigyack-com]

Stphane Gras Appointed GM of Two Four Seasons Hotels in France

Stphane Gras has been appointed General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Megve and Les Chalets du Mont dArbois, Megve, a Four Seasons Hotel. Born in Saint-Etienne, France, Stphane began his career at the Waldorf Astoria in New York before joining Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 1999 as Assistant Room Service Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel New York.

Since then, his career with the group has taken him to the four corners of the world: the United States, Egypt, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, and more. Stphane now manages the destination's two hotels (Four Seasons Hotel Megve and Les Chalets du Mont d'Arbois, Megve, a Four Seasons Hotel) as well as the Golf du Mont d'Arbois and the mountain restaurants in the Edmond de Rothschild Heritage Group (Le Club du Mont d'Arbois, La Taverne du Mont d'Arbois, La Pizzeria de la Taverne, L'Idal 1850, L'Auberge de la Cte 2000). Stphane has a Bachelor's degree in International Hotel Management from the Ecole Htelire de Lausanne, Switzerland. Outside of work, Stphane and his wife are interested in art and regularly visit his two daughters in the United States. He also plays golf and enjoys downhill skiing - two disciplines that will enable him to make the most of Megve in winter as well as summer.  See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Four Seasons, GM, General Manager. Headlines: Hong Kong Welcomed Just 199,000 Visitor Arrivals in February  SAS to Halt Most Traffic; Layoff 90% of Workforce  HKIA Handled 1.9m Pax and 18,005 Flight Movements in February  Singapore Airlines Waives Rebooking Fees  American Airlines Suspends All Remaining Flights to Asia  EC Needs to Suspend 80-20 Airport Slots Rule Until October  Vietnam Airlines to Transport Passengers from Europe to Vietnam  Etihad Airways Suspends More Flights  Pictures from Miss International Queen 2020 in Pattaya, Thailand  IATA Reacts to US Ban on Travellers from Europe  Finnair Cancels All Flights to USA and Delhi, India  Qatar Airways Offers FFP Tier Status Extension  Ansat Helicopters Approved to Carry Neonatal Medical Module  American Airlines Outlines Changes to Europe and South America Flights  Eric Martel to Return to Bombardier as President and CEO  Okura Prestige Bangkok Launches Thai Residents Promotion  Finalists from Canada, Italy and UK Selected for Airbus GEDC Diversity Award  COVID19: US Bans ALL Travel from Europe  Vietnam Airlines to Reduce Flights to Europe  WTTC Postpones Global Summit in Cancun, Mexico  COVID19: AirAsia Adds Flexibility for Passengers to Change Tickets  Stephane Gras Appointed GM of Two Four Seasons Hotels in France  Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Downtown Dubai Opens Onsen Spa  Akaryn Hotels & Resorts Launches Travel Trade Promotion  CAAS Implements New Measures for Business Jets Flying to Singapore  COVID19: Thai Airways to Cancel Italy Flights  Accor to Take Over Historic Carton House in Ireland  Vietnam Airlines to Check Temperature of All Passengers Departing Europe  Rosaviatsiya Certifies Emergency Flotation System on Ansat Helicopters  Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi Airports Increase COVID19 Surveillance  Etihad Airways to Launch Daily Flights to Vienna, Austria  Heathrow Introduces New Charges for Night Time Flights  Pictures from Miss International Queen 2020 in Pattaya, Thailand  North Wales Tourism - Interview with Jim Jones, CEO  Dusit Launches Special Travel Trade Rates  COVID19: Cebu Pacific Changes Rebooking Policy  Montara Hospitality Unveils Details of Tri Vananda Wellness Project in Phuket  Qatar Airways Launches More Flexible Booking Policy for Travellers  Thai Airways Causes Confusion with COVID19 Certificate Requirement  ACI Reveals World's Best Airports for Customer Experience  Marriott Opens First Aloft Hotel in Bali, Indonesia  Thai Airways Cancels International Flights in Asia and Europe  Bangkok Airways Makes Major Changes to Domestic and Int. Flight Schedules  Air Astana Makes Changes to Int. Flight Schedules  Finnair to Increase Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel  Airbus to Showcase A220, A350-900 and H145 at Wings India  Women's and Men's Rugby Africa Cup 2020 to Take Place at Same Time  Pictures from Miss International Queen 2020 in Pattaya, Thailand  IATA Updates Analysis of Financial Impact of COVID19 Outbreak  Capella Launches New Hotel Brand  15,000 Athletes Expected at Laguna Phuket Marathon 2020  Starlux Airlines Signs Distribution Agreement with Sabre  Korean Air Expands Temperature Checks to All Flights Departing Incheon  IDeaS Launches RevPlan  Singapore Airlines Cargo Renews CEIV Pharma Certification; Expands Network  Accor Opens Mövenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc  Saving the Elephants of Thailand - Interview with John Roberts, GTAEF  Aviation: COVID19 Hits January Passenger Demand  Aman to Launch New Hotel Brand  SITA Looks at How 5G Will Help to Transform Airports  COVID19: Finnair Makes Major Changes to Network and Resources  Air Cargo Demand Down 3.3% in January  British Airways Trials Autonomous Electric Mobility Devices at JFK  American Express GBT Appoints Mike Qualantone as Chief Revenue Officer  Thai Airways Extends Ticket Change Fee Waiver to More Flights  SilkAir to Suspend Hiroshima Flights Indefinitely  FlyArystan to Launch 8 Routes from New Karaganda Base  Aerobility to Expand Fleet with Former MOD Vigilant T1 Gliders  CWT Appoints David Pitts as VP Revenue and Global Supplier Management  COVID19: British Airways Launches Book with Confidence Policy  Bombardier Offers 4G In-Cabin Wi-Fi as Retrofit on Learjet Aircraft  Thai Airways Reports 2019 Operating Results  Universal Avionics' ClearVision EFVS with SkyLens HWD Certified by EASA  Minor to Operate Clinique La Prairie's First Medical Spa Outside of Europe  Royal Thai Navy Wins Elephant Boat Race for Second Year  IATA Requests Global Suspension of Slot Rules Due to COVID19 Outbreak  Air Astana Takes Delivery of Second Airbus A321LR  Vistara Expands Partnership with Sabre  Shinta Mani Wild Appoints Tim Pheak as Executive Chef  Aeroflot Takes Delivery of First Airbus A350  Vietnam Airlines to Suspend All Flights to South Korea  Pictures from Elephant Boat Race and Bangkok River Festival 2020  Accor Opens Second ibis Styles Hotel in Vietnam  AirAsia Thailand Receives IOSA Certification  Travelport Achieves Level 4 NDC Aggregator Certification  Qatar Airways Opens Premium Lounge at Changi Airport  British Airways Expands NDC Offering  Steven Phillips Appointed GM of LUX* Grand Baie Resort in Mauritius  Russian Helicopters Delivers First Mi-38  Asia Pacific Airlines Carried 33.8m Int. Pax in January  Delta Reduces Seoul Flights; Delays Manila Launch  Finnair to Increase Flights to Delhi and Los Angeles  Thai Smile Becomes Second Connecting Partner of Star Alliance  ANA to Add 15 More Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Fleet  Airbus Helicopters Appoints Thomas Hundt as EVP - Finance  First Pratt & Whitney GTF Engine Produced in Japan Joins Flight Tests  Air Malta and Qatar Airways to Codeshare  Susan Doniz to Join Boeing as CIO / SVP IT and Data Analytics  AirAsia to Resume Manila - Saigon Flights; Launch Clark - Tagbilaran  COVID19: Qantas and Jetstar Make Major Changes to Network  Air Astana Changes Ticket Rules for Travellers from HK, JP, MO, SG, KR and TH  Hong Kong Int. Airport Introduces New Round of Relief Measures  Russian Helicopters to Commence Production of Ansat Aurus  Hong Kong Win Bronze at Inaugural World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series  Bangkok Airways Partners AXAThailand to Offer 'Protective Wing'  ANA to Test Autonomous Mobility Assistance at Narita Airport  Green Light for MotoGP in Buri Ram, Thailand  Aviation: COVID19 Cuts Demand and Revenues  Martin Dell Returns Home as GM of Four Seasons Hotel Prague  SWISS Takes Delivery of First A320neo  Sabre's Sean Menke to Participate in Keynote Interview at ITB Berlin  Executive Appointments at Outrigger Hospitality  CWT Appoints Linda Creighton as Vice President - Business Finance  Hilton to Open Garden Inn Hotel at Adventure Parc Snowdonia, North Wales  AirAsia Philippines to Launch Flights to Zamboanga from Cebu and Clark  Swiss-Belhotel Opens First Hotel in Malaysia  Joanne Taylor Joins FCM as Director of Account Management Asia  Thai Airways Waives Fees on Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan Flights  SalamAir Partners Tune Protect for Travel Insurance  American Airlines to Expand Preordered Meal Service  Etihad Airways to Launch TravelPass  AirAsia to Launch Flights from Clark and Cebu to General Santos, Philippines  MICE in North Wales - Interview with Richard Jones of venue cymru, Llandudno  Air New Zealand Extends Reduction in Flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai  Patrick de Castelbajac to Join Nordic Aviation Capital as CEO  Thai Airways Opens New Lounge at Phuket Airport  Bulgaria Air and Qatar Airways to Codeshare  Tarom Takes Delivery of First of Nine ATR 72-600s  Whitbread Signs Sixth Premier Inn Hotel in Ireland  Mandarin Oriental Jumeira Dubai Opens Royal Penthouse  COVID19: Zero Risk and Travel Advisories - Where Do We Stop?  Campbell Wilson to Rejoin Scoot as CEO  MIAT to Implement Sabre's Global Demand Data Solution  Cathay Pacific Carried 3M Pax in Jan; Reduces Flight Capacity by 40%  Roger Brantsma Joins 825-Room Hilton Tokyo as General Manger  Thai Airways Increases Passenger Screening on Flights from Cambodia  Mandarin Oriental Boston to Complete US$ 15 Million Renovation in April  Erica Antony Joins CWT as Chief Product Officer  Bjoern van den Oever Joins Alila Villas Koh Russey as Executive Chef  Unicorn Hospitality Opens 47-Room Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand  Hong Kong Airport Handled 5.7 Million Passengers in January  Vietnam Airlines Adds Wide-Body Aircraft to Hanoi - Saigon Route  Pratt & Whitney GTF Engines to Power Korean Air's New A321neos  AsBAA Appoints Jeff Chiang as Chief Operating Officer  Psychometrics at Naruna Retreats in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand  Airbus A330-800 Receives Type Certification from EASA and FAA  Hamza Sehili Joins Four Seasons Tunis as Hotel Manager  British Airways and Royal Air Maroc to Codeshare  Green Africa Airways Signs MOU for 50 Airbus A220-300s  Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals Plummet to Below 3,000 Per Day  What Does Tourism Mean to Conwy, North Wales? Interview with Mayor  Thai Airways Launches Promotion for Royal Orchid Plus Members  Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi Upgrades Rooms and MICE Facilities  FlyArystan to Launch New Routes, Expand Capacity from Almaty, Kazakhstan  Finnair Extends Suspension of Flights to China; Reduces HK Service  SAS Extends Suspension of Flights to China  Air Astana to Launch Flights to Mumbai, India  HK7s and Singapore Sevens Rescheduled  Sustainable Inspiration from Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones in North Wales  Phuket to Host Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020 in June  Thailand: Did Strength of Thai Baht Affect Number of Arrivals from UK in 2019?  Seaplanes in Thailand? Interview with Dennis Keller, CBO of Siam Seaplane  Future of Airline Distribution and NDC - Interview with Yanik Hoyles, IATA  Cambodia Airways Interview with Lucian Hsing, Commercial Director  HD Videos and Interviews  Podcasts from HD Video Interviews  Travel Trade Shows in 2019, 2020 and 2021  High-Res Picture Galleries  Travel News Asia - Latest Travel Industry News  Read the full article