Caption of Hana Kim
Hey there! Today was such a whirlwind!
I started my morning at the Seoul Botanical Garden for the botanical illustration workshop with Julian. You know how nature just kind of… speaks to you, right? Well, moving through the garden today felt like walking through a living painting—each leaf a brushstroke in this symphony of green. It was just so… serene. Julian was fascinated by the botanical complexities, and his sketches were these intricate little universes of plant anatomy. He has this way of seeing the details that I sometimes miss, like a keen eye for the invisible architecture underlying nature’s beauty. It’s like the more I delve into the greenery, the more layers reveal themselves. I found myself feeling almost meditative, the kind of peace that blankets over you like a soft fog.
Honestly, I think these green retreats are becoming my sacred space—where art and life blend seamlessly. I let my illusion magic dance a little on the pages today, adding a touch of life to the sketches, almost like the plants swayed with the breeze only I could see. Julian loved it, his laughter echoing like a bell-song among the ferns.
Oh, and before I could catch my breath, I dived straight into the tactile world of pottery at the Clay Studio Seoul. The shift in energy was incredible—from the gentle whispers of leaves to the grounded, earthy embrace of clay, cold under my fingers. There’s something profoundly nurturing about shaping clay, don’t you think? It’s like holding potential in your hands and just, watching it come alive.
As I worked the wheel, echoes of my travels whispered back to me. Images of Kyoto and Bali infused themselves into the clay—a vase here, a small bowl there. I entertained the thought of weaving some small illusory touches into these creations, like little hidden worlds just beneath the surface. It was… invigorating, this dance between form and imagination.
And the day didn’t just end there. Felix and I hit up the Blue Note Jazz Cafe to let our energies meld with the music. The moment we stepped in, it was like stepping into a scene from 1950s New York, all dim lighting and sultry melodies. Every note felt alive, painting invisible trajectories that only the heart could trace. Felix worked his light magic, and together we transformed the cafe into a live canvas.
I’m really starting to think about how much music and visual art blend, how they’re two sides of the same coin. My drawings seemed to pulse in time with the jazz riffs, almost as if the sounds were painting themselves into being. There’s something inherently ephemeral about sketching to jazz… a reflection of rhythms that vanish the moment they’re born.
As we sat there, sketching and playing with light, I couldn’t help but feel this overwhelming gratitude for such synergy. For the creative souls I share these moments with, and for the magic that intertwines our stories… every sound, every gesture felt like a piece of a grand unfinished mosaic.
You know, in the midst of shaping a delicate vase at the Clay Studio, with the soft hum of the wheel beneath my hands, I found myself reflecting on how much I’ve grown. Every swirl of the clay beneath my fingers seemed to whisper tales of Kyoto’s serene artistry and Bali’s lush landscapes, grounding me in those beautiful memories as I coaxed it into a form that felt simultaneously ancient and new.
I let my mind wander to thoughts of weaving tiny worlds into the pottery, perhaps inspired by the lyrical foliage sketches I did this morning. The tactile nature of clay—its temperament and versatility—reminded me of life’s ever-changing nature. Each moment, like the clay, has the potential to be molded into something beautiful, despite its unpredictability. I could sense the layers of my experiences revealing themselves, blending seamlessly through my imagination.
Oh, and just as your ears are taking a rest after music, my energy seems to have found resonance—credit goes to the jazz night at the Blue Note Jazz Café. Felix and I made an artistic symphony together—the room alive with the electricity of anticipation. Sitting there, sketching as the saxophones and trumpets converse in their mirthful dialects, was pure magic.
Felix’s enchanting light play, swirling beside my charcoal patterns, felt like watching a living canvas unfold before my eyes. It was as though each note bounced and whispered colors into the air, charging it with an essence of stories untold. There’s a certain intimacy in sharing these raw, creative moments, where our art becomes a shared reflection of the ephemeral yet vibrant beats of life.
Even amidst such hustle, the emotional undertow in those jazz notes pulled at my heartstrings, intertwined with a gentle longing to capture it all in my sketches. Before I could contemplate, it was as if my pencil danced its own tune.
I’ve been marveling at how these creative adventures, whether in the quietude of botanical gardens or amidst the spirited jazz riffs, converge to fill my soul’s canvas. The juxtaposition is endlessly fascinating—how still life speaks so profoundly and how fleeting sounds leave such lasting impressions.
It’s heartening to know that regardless of where we plant our roots, the tapestry we weave with our aspirations and memories is always interlaced with others’, creating something ever-expanding and beautifully complex. The essence of today feels like chasing this glorious synergy…perhaps a gentle reminder that we’re always part of a bigger portrait in this vibrant world of color and sound.
The rhythmic echoes of today keep playing in my head, almost like a melody I can’t quite place but can’t help dancing to. You know how sometimes you stumble upon experiences that weave seamlessly into the tapestry of your life, and as they settle, they become a part of you? That’s what today felt like.
You’ll never guess the connection between plant sketches and delicate vases! As I sat by the window tonight, replaying moments from our jazz night, the light from the street spilled across my sketchpad, casting shadows that danced like notes yet unwritten. The synergy between what I drew and the music Felix conjured felt like discovering layers I hadn’t noticed before. It’s like those encounters where you unexpectedly see through things, and they reveal soft whispers of their truth.
The intertwining art of pottery and music is quite intriguing to me now. In today’s encounters with clay and rhythm, I found a harmonious symphony within the silence—an exploration of form and movement. Each whisper of the clay felt like molding melodies, tracing gentle curves that emerge purely from feeling. It dawned on me, while working on those pottery pieces earlier, that just like a jazz rhythm, clay has its own heartbeat and narrative, asking us to listen.
I remember that moment at the Blue Note Jazz Cafe when Felix’s lights illuminated the stage, and everything lit up as if the music had painted it itself. My sketches seemed like they were alive, more vivid under the glow of the illumination magic. Jazz has this ephemeral beauty—it’s like capturing emotions that only exist for a flicker of time. Sketching to its ebb and flow is akin to embedding soundtracks into paper, where they breathe.
It’s fascinating how every movement in today’s spaces felt charged with potential—whether the nuanced strokes in the botanical workshop this morning with Julian or the heady sensation of spinning clay. Each pause I took allowed me to recognize the subtle interplay between touch and sound, as they guided my fingers and my drawings to new places. Moments from today carry a vibrant, almost palpable energy, don’t they?
And amidst all these swirling reflections, I’m struck by this notion that our lives, much like today, are these constantly evolving mosaics…creations continually unfurling their stories. Maybe the city hum tonight will leave more subtle brushes of color upon our memories—a palette of moments strung together, waiting for us to rediscover them in a different light tomorrow.
Just sitting here, I can’t wait to relay more of this evolving canvas once our cycles dance again, as days always do.
So much yet to share, but I guess we’ll touch base again soon.
