Transformation (Signed Gicleé Print)
This piece was the third in a series focusing on Korean myths and stories. At the time, I wasworking with some generous and kind mentors who gave me space to explore themes that were important to me personally. For the first time it wasn’t “Here’s an assignment.” Instead, I got to explore the other way of creating where you make things that are important to you.
A lot of the imagery I was focused on at the time was strong women following their inner voices, going through a transformation that is uncertain and takes hard work. But focusing on people in art was new to me, so I had to learn how to draw them (left to myself I still draw stick figures).
So I was learning to draw people, in that way my art was transforming. I was committing to doing illustration, in that way my art was also transforming. I was fully letting go of being a biologist or going into medicine. I was letting go of a lot of the training I’d received in my BFA. There were a lot of different transformations happening, and I think that’s why this piece happened.
The story I’m illustrating here comes from the weird and wild legendary history of Korea. Korea has had a basically unified civilization for about 5,000 years, so there are a lot of stories that go way, way back.
This is the story of how Korea came to be.
One day, the son of the sky god comes down to earth, where a bear and a tiger approach him and say, “We want to be humans.” He agrees, if they go into a cave and for a hundred days eat only garlic and onions.
I love the “What? Why?” bizarre mythic aspects of this story.
After a while in the cave, the tiger can’t stand it anymore and leaves. And stays a tiger.
But the bear persists (“bear-like persistence” is a Korean expression even). As a reward, the bear is transformed into a beautiful woman. The sky god’s son is so impressed with her character and persistence that has marries her and they become the parents of all Korea.
I first learned this story in a history class in Korea.
Some scholars think this story hearkens back to Korea’s early totemist or shamanic days when a tribe of moon worshippers united with a bear clan and started one of the first prehistoric Korean kingdoms.
Sometimes, our lives are called to transform like this. For me, my experience has been like that - switching from bio to art, or coming from a practical, war- and occupation-surviving Korean family and growing into a creative artist. All these transformations are still painful and beautiful, and require persistence and faith to make it through.
This piece was the third in a series focusing on Korean myths and stories. At the time, I wasworking with some generous and kind mentors who gave me space to explore themes that were important to me personally. For the first time it wasn’t “Here’s an assignment.” Instead, I got to explore the other way of creating where you make things that are important to you.
A lot of the imagery I was focused on at the time was strong women following their inner voices, going through a transformation that is uncertain and takes hard work. But focusing on people in art was new to me, so I had to learn how to draw them (left to myself I still draw stick figures).
So I was learning to draw people, in that way my art was transforming. I was committing to doing illustration, in that way my art was also transforming. I was fully letting go of being a biologist or going into medicine. I was letting go of a lot of the training I’d received in my BFA. There were a lot of different transformations happening, and I think that’s why this piece happened.
The story I’m illustrating here comes from the weird and wild legendary history of Korea. Korea has had a basically unified civilization for about 5,000 years, so there are a lot of stories that go way, way back.
This is the story of how Korea came to be.
One day, the son of the sky god comes down to earth, where a bear and a tiger approach him and say, “We want to be humans.” He agrees, if they go into a cave and for a hundred days eat only garlic and onions.
I love the “What? Why?” bizarre mythic aspects of this story.
After a while in the cave, the tiger can’t stand it anymore and leaves. And stays a tiger.
But the bear persists (“bear-like persistence” is a Korean expression even). As a reward, the bear is transformed into a beautiful woman. The sky god’s son is so impressed with her character and persistence that has marries her and they become the parents of all Korea.
I first learned this story in a history class in Korea.
Some scholars think this story hearkens back to Korea’s early totemist or shamanic days when a tribe of moon worshippers united with a bear clan and started one of the first prehistoric Korean kingdoms.
Sometimes, our lives are called to transform like this. For me, my experience has been like that - switching from bio to art, or coming from a practical, war- and occupation-surviving Korean family and growing into a creative artist. All these transformations are still painful and beautiful, and require persistence and faith to make it through.
This piece was the third in a series focusing on Korean myths and stories. At the time, I wasworking with some generous and kind mentors who gave me space to explore themes that were important to me personally. For the first time it wasn’t “Here’s an assignment.” Instead, I got to explore the other way of creating where you make things that are important to you.
A lot of the imagery I was focused on at the time was strong women following their inner voices, going through a transformation that is uncertain and takes hard work. But focusing on people in art was new to me, so I had to learn how to draw them (left to myself I still draw stick figures).
So I was learning to draw people, in that way my art was transforming. I was committing to doing illustration, in that way my art was also transforming. I was fully letting go of being a biologist or going into medicine. I was letting go of a lot of the training I’d received in my BFA. There were a lot of different transformations happening, and I think that’s why this piece happened.
The story I’m illustrating here comes from the weird and wild legendary history of Korea. Korea has had a basically unified civilization for about 5,000 years, so there are a lot of stories that go way, way back.
This is the story of how Korea came to be.
One day, the son of the sky god comes down to earth, where a bear and a tiger approach him and say, “We want to be humans.” He agrees, if they go into a cave and for a hundred days eat only garlic and onions.
I love the “What? Why?” bizarre mythic aspects of this story.
After a while in the cave, the tiger can’t stand it anymore and leaves. And stays a tiger.
But the bear persists (“bear-like persistence” is a Korean expression even). As a reward, the bear is transformed into a beautiful woman. The sky god’s son is so impressed with her character and persistence that has marries her and they become the parents of all Korea.
I first learned this story in a history class in Korea.
Some scholars think this story hearkens back to Korea’s early totemist or shamanic days when a tribe of moon worshippers united with a bear clan and started one of the first prehistoric Korean kingdoms.
Sometimes, our lives are called to transform like this. For me, my experience has been like that - switching from bio to art, or coming from a practical, war- and occupation-surviving Korean family and growing into a creative artist. All these transformations are still painful and beautiful, and require persistence and faith to make it through.
