Thursday, May 27, 2010

Isadora Duncan in Central Park



Today while wandering in Central Park, I happened to come upon a performance by "Dances By Isadora" in honor of Isadora Duncan's birthday (she would have been 132!). Duncan is considered by many to be the creator of modern dance.









The dancers were beautiful, dressed in flowing tunics with a rainbow of colors. I have always been in love with fabric flowing in the wind, so needless to say I was happy. It was like walking into a fairytale when I came around the corner at the Bethesda Terrace. One of the reasons I love New York so much, is that you can find wonderful things to see without even trying.



The performances featured little girls, teenagers, and women who all danced in honor of the last generation of women that had danced until they passed away in their nineties.



Sunday, May 23, 2010

Summer Day



Yesterday I had a beautiful day of drawing in the West Village. I started out a French cafe on 6th avenue and had a delicious waffle, while sitting next to the most awful woman I have ever seen.

  • Within seconds of sitting down, our waiter had come to get her drink order and she proceeded to yell at him about some silly thing with the chair.
  • Once he brought her coffee, she went to yell at one of the busboys that the waiter hadn't brought her a new spoon quickly enough.
  • When the waiter came back to take her order, she ordered eggs on the side. When the waiter asked if she wanted eggs on the side of something or just a side of eggs, she yelled again and asked for a new waiter.
  • She then called over the hostess and yelled at her because a new waiter hadn't been assigned to her yet (it had been about one minute). She asked to speak to the manager. The hostess calmed her down, and she then ordered a side of eggs and toast.
  • When the hostess sweetly named all of the breads they carried, the woman then yelled at her for not having "plain" toast, and grumpily allowed them to bring her sourdough. The poor girl looked so terrified, like she was trying to put out a fire that had started for absolutely no reason.
  • All of this occurred within about 5 minutes.



It was completely baffling to me that people treat waiters like that, but I guess people are so inside their own heads sometimes that they don't realize the people around them are people too! *sigh* Anyhoo at least it made for an entertaining meal!



I then went to sit in the park across from Magnolia Bakery, where the pigeons are quite brazen, and where droves of tourists stand in line all day to get movie-star cupcakes. Personally, I've never really liked the cupcakes that much...but I can't really talk, since I went there my first week of being in New York too.



Magnolia also draws crowds of tour groups, especially from the "Sex and the City Tour" variety. While there, several bachelorette parties came by to stop and sample the famous cupcakes. Everyone was always dressed to the nines, like they were out for a night of clubbing, wearing cropped black jackets (all of them) and five inch stilettos (for a walking tour...gluttons for punishment!).



Other than the cupcake aficionados, there was a sweet, beautiful woman who seemed to be falling more in love with the man she was sitting across from every minute. Her smile kept beaming from across the park.



There was also a woman who was quite the multitasker.



Then I left the park and walked towards the Hudson to watch the sunset.


When the sun started to set across the river, there was a sweet gay couple enjoying the moment under the trees. Then a big wind came and blew my ink bottle all over the table. Ink-tastrophe! Still, a great day!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

One Step At a Time

My spring semester just ended! Here is an animation that I was working on for part of the semester:


One Step at a Time from Evan Turk on Vimeo.


Spring begins

Quietly

From the stork's one pace.

-Shoha


(Sound is quiet at the beginning, turn up the volume!)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

A Picture For A Thousand Voices: Relaunch!



Here is an illustration to celebrate the re-launch of my site, "A Picture For A Thousand Voices"! This project is a collection of illustrations, by myself and others, about the individual stories involved in the gay rights movement. The illustrations and stories will hopefully be able to extend the dialogue between the gay and straight communities about why equal rights is important to everyone.

The project now features a gallery page:

http://picturefor1000voices.com/

As well as a new blog for news/thoughts/illustrations related to the gay rights movement:

http://blog.picturefor1000voices.com/

If you haven't yet, become a follower of the blog to receive updates and show your support!

To read more about this illustration, visit: American Dream

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Happy Birthday, Me!



In honor of my own birthday (hurray!), here are a few drawings of one of my favorite things: cherry blossoms! I didn't make it to the festival this year (which I think is today, actually) but my boyfriend and I got to go down and watch the early blooming trees a couple weeks ago. The ones that bloom earlier tend to be the white, and light pink ones, which are less showy, but almost more beautiful. There's nothing more relaxing than spending a day underneath the cherry blossoms!



This is a drawing of a father helping his little girl climb one of the cherry trees. I'm not sure that she had decided whether she actually wanted to be climbing the trees, though.