I MISS YOU HONG KONG.

my uncle from HK is in town for a work trip.

and he brought this baby back:

i interned for his workplace two summers ago,

and got to design an entire album for them,

start to finish, beginning to end, A to Z.

you get the point.

'twas exciting getting to have an actual physical copy.

everything's virtual and almost not real,

until you're holding it in your hand.

---

anyway, got me reminiscing about my HK summer.

food, family, and humidity.
i think that's how i'll sum it up.

walk down a very colorful memory lane with me, will you??



1. Sheets of Tofu, in my mom's old HK stomping grounds
2. Pounding the pavement, from my morning commutes
3. Checking proofs for the album design!
4. Little fish polishing my heals in Singapore

5. First solo taxi ride with translations in hand, so nerve racking
6. Foggy green mountain mornings
7.  Fun leather class with my cousin
8. That rare morning I swam, in Singapore

---

wahh, when i hoard up enough vacation days and some money,

you can bet i'll be on a 15 hour flight back to the motherlaaaaand!

I'D LIKE A LAKE, PLEASE!

Back from a weekend out in the armpit of California..

or Fresno.

haha. that nickname is seriously spot on.

Our campground was so so hot and dry, ant infested, 

and seriously brought out the first world diva in me. 

it's true. 

and you know,

it could've been a weekend plagued by 

these really gross and sticky circumstances.

but i was in great company,

and that definitely trumped anything else,

PLUS there was a beautiful fresh lake to waddle into. 

all the yuck and muck could only be left behind in the thick mud by the shore,

making it such a great labor day weekend away from suburbia.

He is such an amazing Creator with these little pockets of paradise.

I got a glimpse of that, both in amazing lakes and new/old friendships.

God is good!

Not babushka

From wiki:
"They are sometimes incorrectly referred to as 'babushka dolls'.."

haha, whoops.

This here is a matryoshka. 

(thank God for autocorrect.)

Stopped by Oh Hello Friend with some buddies the other day. 

And instead of buying shorts (go me), I got this super cool DIY Russian doll kit. 

I honestly just wanted to post these photos because the lighting and colors are so nice. 

And because this little "matryoshka" now reminds me of a really great day spent with good friends. 

so cute, right? I just wish it kept going and going..

It's coming!

Ah, I can finally post this now that details are ironed out.

Ready?

WHEE!

I'm a ball of emotions: excitement, anxiety, anticipation, fear.

If I had to fill out one of those "What is your mood today?" cards, 

I'd write ALL OF THE ABOVE in gigantic sharpie marker.

I know from the some of the past experiences 

that nothing comes together wonderfully without a little fearlessness and big faith.

I'm hanging onto that.

that, and this:

Prints are great, but cards are so fun!

So I'm working on getting some of that into the show. 

It's not too far of a stretch, but still a whole 'nother level of organizing and dreaming.

Here's a little teaser:

testing prints and type

that Micron Graphic pen..mmmm

favorite pen, ever.

and this past tuesday, Lilly treat us to delicious almond croissants before we talked shop. 

Olivia's having her own show at Share the same night!!

I'll probably have more to share as we approach the August 2nd opening night.

yikes.

stay tuned, friends. 

Gramps.

This forever summer period is seriously precious and perfect timing.

The grandpa has been a little weak with his arthritis and old age,

and it's been really special getting to hang out with him.

I had a sudden flashback to my childhood today, 

back to when I used to hang out at the grandparents house.

Those days would be filled with lots of Chinese television 

and a guaranteed morning dose of "The Price is Right." 

I have learned nothing about bidding on prizes.

I don't think I remember appreciating him much in my teens.

But there's something about sitting in a living room with him again, 

tv blaring, me doing my own thing, and him in his recliner..

and I'm overwhelmed by how special this guy has been in my life.

Caterpillars.

It's been a week of really fun, challenging projects

that has had me "arting,"

dabbling in different areas that I love-

illustration, design, calligraphy, photography. 

Yes, it feels like many days of pretending. 

I know I'm not alone when I say that I find myself in waves of insecurity and constant comparing.

These lulls come suddenly through the most random things: insta, blogs, a stranger..

or even slowly and quietly while I'm working on something and lost in thought. 

It's distracting and can be crippling. 

My goal, post graduation and for this forever summer, has been to keep on creating.

So yes, I know, these moments of self doubt are expected and necessary. 

I've been praying for a heart that is teachable--

for God to teach me to continue taking those faithful leaps, in spite of;
to have joy in creating to serve Him, 

not to serve a secure future full of steady paychecks.

remember these furry guys? 
saw them all the time lining up in 2nd grade.

- - - - -

So I'll continue to hope in my God 

who has dreams for me that are greater than I'll ever have---

like big, beautiful butterfly dreams for a tiny, self-doubting caterpillar. 

Photospree: Hooray, Graduates!

It's exciting when friends and family remember my photo days 

and trust me enough to ask for a photospree. 

I'm definitely not the most professional 

(once I forgot to charge the battery, camera was dead, 

and we resorted to the crazy powerful iPhone. 

eek. not a proud moment.)

haha.

that'll get the emails in!

ANYWAY, my cousin Katy and her roommates graduated just this past weekend 

and we had a photospree all around UC Irvine, bright and early like supermodels do.

'twas super fun getting to see the campus 

and observe my cousin's friendship with her roomies.

this time...my battery was fully charged, 

the weather was glorious, 

the gals had wonderful chemistry,

and it was just all around a really great morning.

katy - -

so proud of you! 

you're one of the most thoughtful, caring, hardworking people i know. 

you inspire me! thanks to you and your roomies for letting me do this!

love, 

trisha

Let us pause..

after a very june gloomy, moody, broody morning..

from Emmylou Harris, "Hard Times Come Again No More"

print available in the etsy shop

Yes, I watch Nashville. totally guilty. but mainly for these two sisters..

Check out their awesome cover of the tune:

happy thursday.

Illustration Storytime: "Stars"

Thought it'd be fun for little storytime segments on what's behind some of my illustrations.. 

yay? nay??

- - - - -

Some of you may remember I had a "photography phase" 

(heavily documented on my old xanga and trickled over to my tumblr for a little bit.) 

I still love it, but I was definitely consumed then.

This phase began freshman year of college, 

when I had no burdening homework and lived in a beautiful apartment complex overflowing with trees.  

I had also started following a TON of photography blogs 

(many of which you can still find on my blog roll to the right), 

totally inspired by their use of color, composition, light, subjects, etc. 

One of my favorite photographers, theimageisfound, grabbed my attention with personal posts featuring their daughter, Grace---

then a toddler with so much energy, spunk, and personality. 

I loved it. 

Here's one of my favorites.

See? Beautiful and so hilarious.

This one obviously left an impression (how could it not??) 

and ultimately inspired this guy:

prints available in the etsy shop

" S T A R S " 

This guy stemmed out of "Flight", my little aviation buddy and his dreams of flying way up into the stars. 

It's an ode to Grace, telescopes fashioned out of tape and glass cups, and paper skies.

I'm constantly inspired by my nursery kids...

sure, their attention spans are about a minute at the most, 

but their ability to imagine, wonder, and dream is incomparable. 

This whole "Embrace" series has been my effort in trying to remember and capture that. 

Hopefully this is doing it justice. 

Brain & iPhone dump // Disney World

The last time I was here was in 1995. My dad had won some sort of trip package from work, and I'm pretty sure he told the travel agent I was 6, when I was really 5. I  remember two magical things from this trip: my airplane outfit and only wanting to ride Dumbo. Yeah, I was fun. 

Now here we are 18 years later with my sister, who was only an image in God's creative mind back in '95. My dad keeps reminding me of his memories from that trip..especially how I was super moody the entire time. 

Besides the fact that I'm actually aware of it now, I can be JUST as moody as I was 18 years ago. It's true. 

You put this introvert in a small shared space for more than 24 hours, and my inner angry monster child will come out...not too different from the monster prompted when I'm "hangry" (hungry angry). 

Family vacations tend to bring out the best and the worst in me. I need my space after a certain time with other beings. I get tired. I get moody. I'm not graceful. 

This trip's no different. 

I've been loving all the free wifi here at the Disney resorts/parks. They really are super accommodating (don't get me started about the pricey ponchos and drink mugs though..). Is it lame that all this wifi has pushed me to take even more photos than usual? There's something special about actual in-the-moment instagrams, way more exciting that my usual "latergrams". 

This is a first world problem. This entire post has/and will continue to be a first world problem. 

So reflecting on my panicky, testy moments from this trip, I then think about all of the photos I've taken throughout. They're peaceful slices of the trip.

Happy, beautiful memories:

Two weeks from now, I'll forget about the "hangry" and only remember the happy. I'm quick like that. 

Although only by the grace of God. Seriously. 

- - - - -

" Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. 

He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. 

If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be— absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God." utmost.org