Sheila Bocchine, Photographer

Waterfalls on Jeju Island, South Korea. (Hipstamatic photograph – iphoneography)
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Dream Diary
September 2 – Thursday

I was walking around San Francisco on a beautiful evening. I came across this guy in front of a fancy apartment building. He was trying to get 5 dates. He was tall, dark hair, nice body, very handsome. He asked if I would be go out with him. I thought his project was interesting so I said yes. He went out with me and one other girl but decided that he didn’t need to go on the other dates because he found me. We went ice skating and swimming at an indoor pool. We were making out in the swimming pool and paparazzi photographed us. We were on the front page of the newspaper. It was only then that I found out how rich he was, and his mother demanded to meet this girl. I met his mom and she loved me.

It got colder outside and I was with some friends at a paper store. We were looking for holiday gifts. I thought about painting him a shirt and then decided to make him a card, but left everything in the store and went to a boutique to buy him an outfit. I remember thinking his pant size must be 34/32. I bought him pinstripped gray and black wool pants with a thick, knitted creme sweater. On my way to the boutique I walked slowly, looking for a camera card I though I lost on that street a while ago. I didn’t find it.

Busuk-Temple in Younju, Kyungbuk, Korea (Hipstamatic photograph, iphoneography)
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I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday again. This week I decided to share some of my favorite ‘art’ blogs (and websites) with you. Again, there are numerous, making the choice incredibly difficult.  I quite enjoy stalking artists blogs and I’m so grateful for the abundance of creative energies found on the internet. There is so much art, it’s impossible to see everything, but here’s a good start! Also, if you have one that you love to read, please, please, please share with me!

1. Artforum

2. Life in LoFi: iphoneography

3. NPR: Arts and Life

4. PostSecret

5. Chris Keeney Photo

6. Flavorwire/Artkrush

7. 20×200 and Jen Bekman

8. Aperture

9. My love for you…

10. Sandra Juto (she just had to restart her blog because of technical difficulties…)

This summer I’ve been making friends with all sorts of bugs from the pizzeria to the tea house to the countryside. I’ve been fascinated with photographing them, hipstamatic style. Here are a few of my favorites (and for others click here or check my flickr):

Hipstamatic photograph of a dragon at the Lantern Festival on Jeju Island, South Korea.
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I LOVE reading blogs. I could spend the whole day perusing blogs. I could stay up all night blog-hopping (which I do too often). I love acquiring new knowledge and blogs are an incredible wealth of information. Here are ONLY 10 design blogs I like to read, too bad it’s not 20 on Tuesday or 50 on Tuesday!  So much inspiration can be found on these 10 blogs! (Hey, Yes, I know it’s not Tuesday, it’s Thursday in some parts of the world, and here, it’s the wee hours of Friday…)

Enjoy!!!

1. Design*Sponge

2.  Apartment Therapy

3. Oh Joy!

4. Decor8

5. A cup of Jo

6. gala darling

7. Inhabitat

8. The City Sage

9. Bliss

10. Bloesem

Oh! How I love the beach! Grainy sand between my toes. Ocean’s brine bursting with flavor on my tongue. Sounds of waves slowly wash upon the shore. Echos of laughter.

This was a particularly special beach day. Swirls of fog swallowed us up as we splashed under a canopy of soft, gray, rolling clouds. Warm water even with an absent sun. Post lunch, a light sprinkling of rain felt cool as we bobbed up and down in our pink Little Mermaid inner tubes. AND then! A clap of thunder, a downpour of oversized crystal raindrops dimpled the thirsty sea.

As we jumped into waves, cheering with delight, I could not help gazing out to sea, daydreaming of faraway lands and looming adventure. What great fortune to have experienced harmony with nature, to partake in this ‘water cycle’.

I spent the weekend in the countryside and at the beach in Samcheok, South Korea with some of my favorite dancers from the salsa club, Turn. I was forewarned about the rural nature of this trip and at first even declined their invitation but figured with such good company I could look past the non 5 star accommodations.  There were definitely highlights to the weekend, and I’m glad I experienced a trip like this, if only to know in the future to politely decline!

I’m not a camper, never was, never will be. I was told there was a ‘small house’ with a ‘bathroom’ that needed a bucket of water or two in order to flush.  I thought, that doesn’t sound sooooooooooooo baaadddd… Oh, but it was.  I even avoided drinking and ate less than normal, just to avoid having to face the hole in the ground disguised as a toilet.

After an excellent night’s sleep on a hard, wooden table covered with a blanket, I awoke bright and early thinking we were headed to the beach. I brushed my teeth with a water hose and needed 3 people to help me use the bathroom.  Where do I get a bucket?  Where do I put the water in the toilet?  In the bottom, okay.  No, that didn’t work.  Try the top, okay.  No that didn’t work either.  Try another bucket in the bottom?  Okay.  That finally worked.

Found out we weren’t leaving for the beach until the rest of the dancers arrived. So I went for a morning walk through the foggy countryside. I inhaled deep breaths of fresh air. I felt the humidity moisten my skin.  I was c0mpletely surrounded by beauty.

I was at one with nature. Slowly walking down the curvy road looking for an excuse to use my hipstamatic iPhone app!

I was particularly mesmerized by these stunning flowers. I’ve never seen anything like them. They were gorgeous, white and looked as if an artist knit them with strands of delicate threads. (If you know what they are, please tell me!!)

I even saw some flowers resembling the ones my mom would suck sweet honey from when I was a child, but I don’t believe they were.

I enjoy living in the city but was soaking up as much luscious green life as possible. Enjoying the clean, country air. Closing my eyes and absorbing the rejuvenating plant energy. Listening to the morning song of bugs awaking; nature’s alarm clock.

I bid farewell to the spider and hurried back to ‘camp’ hoping for a green light to the beach. Unfortunately, no one had yet arrived and I got stuck shucking corn and doing other laborious jobs like a country peasant.  (Beach photos coming tomorrow)

Hipstamatic print – Woke up early on Saturday morning and went for a walk in the foggy countryside near Samcheok, South Korea.
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I went ‘camping’ over the weekend.  Yes, we  were staying in a ‘house’ but it was essentially camping.  So this week’s 10 on Tuesday is a list of things I know to be true about myself and I shouldn’t try to change…

1. I don’t like camping. It’s as simple as it sounds.  I enjoy nature and being outdoors, but at the end of the day I want to sleep on a bed (not a wooden table) and use a real bathroom (not a room with a toilet that needs buckets of water in order to flush, that I must bring with me before I use it).  I don’t want to rough it.  I don’t want to be dirty.  I don’t want to go backpacking.  I don’t want to travel like a hobo. I don’t want to sleep in a tent.  I don’t want to hitchhike.  Where’s the boutique hotel and taxi?

2. I love big cities.  The surrounding buzzing energy is my power cord. I can people watch for hours.  I can walk aimlessly with no plan for hours. I can walk into any building that draws my attention.  I can meander through alleyways, side streets and under bridges with my camera for hours. Memorizing city maps has been a lifelong hobby.  The bigger the city the more I want to go there!!

3. I love beaches. Sand between my toes. Tropical weather. Warm rain. Fresh fruit. Salt water. Seaweed. Crabs. Colorful umbrellas. Floating. Inner tubes. Waves. Endless views of water and sky.

4. I love photography, especially pinhole and now, hipstamatic.  I was depressed for a while due to lack of inspiration. I thought moving to a new country would have cured that deadly photographer’s disease. The cure came in the form of an iphone app. Run out of inspiration?  There’s an iphone app for that. (wink, wink)!

Currently, I can’t stop taking photographs. I see in Roboto Glitter Lenses, Berry Pop Flashes and Ina’s 1969 film. Want to see some of my latest photos:

Flickr

Facebook – way more photographs

5. I love shopping!  From thrift stores to vintage boutiques to fancy department shops! I love looking at styled mannequins!  I love trying things on!  I love buying accessories! I love fashion magazine ads! I love watching the Style Channels on TV!  I love reading about the latest trends!  I love following the lines of my favorite designers!  I love that some of my friends are fashion designers!  I love high quality fabrics! I love looking at people’s fashion choices!  I love anything vintage!

6. If I read about it, I’m probably going to want to try it. If you know me, you should just agree to go along for the ride and enjoy yourself! I also can’t guarantee that it will hold my attention for very long… so when I tire of the idea, I’ll completely lose interest.

7. I change my mind. Often. Don’t take it personally. I usually want both options, so I flip back and forth, forth and back.  Everything always sounds good. Why do we have to make choices? I sometimes wish I could be one of the people who make a decision and sticks with it, but I’m not.  I probably can’t change that, and to be honest, don’t want to change that sometimes annoying personality trait!

8. I’m not sure ‘settling’ down is for me.  I tried it, I really did.  I was happy for a bit, but the longing to go explore a new city was overwhelming. I try to daydream about what life would be like if I were married with children and it’s a hilariously bad sitcom… except it wouldn’t be over in 30 minutes.  It would be forever. Now finding a lover who also feels the same way would be quite lovely!

9. I love to sleep.  I’ll cancel plans just to sleep. I have no problem sleeping the day away or sleeping 12 or more hours straight. In the morning I’ll hit snooze for an hour, just to sleep for a little longer.  Sleeping leads to my all time favorite activity: dreaming! I truly believe that when we’re awake we’re really dreaming and vice versa.  My ‘real life’ happens when I’m ‘sleeping’. Our ‘waking hours’ are really to give us a break and much needed rest.  I lead the most exciting ‘dream’ life! I never want to ‘wake up’!!

10. I don’t like laborious work. I don’t like to clean.  If I cook, I want someone else to clean.  I think I should have a maid come clean my bathroom and change my sheets every week. I could never work on a farm or in a factory. If it’s manual or hard, I’ll find a way out of it.  I haven’t done laundry in years…

Hipstamatic – Dragon at Lantern Festival on Jeju Island, South Korea.

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Tuesday is almost over and I need to do my 10 on Tuesday post… So here are the 10 thoughts I am having at this very moment:

1. I can’t wait to go to the beach this weekend.  I’ve been wanting to go all summer and going with the Salsa Club is going to be fantastic.  I must buy a hat before this weekend and try on my bathing suit… and drop off my laundry tomorrow so I have clothes to bring with me this weekend.

2. As soon as I get back, I’m going to do a detox.  My stomach has been hurting like crazy lately and a few days of green smoothies always make me feel better!

3. I think it’s ridiculous for guys to say they will date you if you lose weight… or for someone to say they love you and want to marry you, but you must lose 60 pounds first… or for a ‘friend’ to agree and tell you she can get you pills that will make you thin in 6months. I don’t understand why someone thinks you’re more datable because you are thinner, you’re still the same person, right?  OR does being thin automatically make you more interesting, smarter, funnier, a better dancer, a better lover…????  For the record, I’ve lost 65 pounds in the last year and am quite happy with my progress.  I feel great.  I look gorgeous. Every month I weigh myself and find more pounds have melted off.  In time I will be thinner, but I’m still going to be the same person!!!!   If I’m not good enough for you now, I won’t be good enough for you then, either!!

4. Why do  so called ‘Christians’ go into cultures and ruin them by forcing their beliefs??? I was watching this fascinating program on Discovery Channel tonight called ‘Tattoo Hunter’ and this tattoo anthropologist was the first foreigner with a TV crew to enter a village somewhere between India and Nepal.  He was most interested in finding out about their history with tattoos and receiving one from the Queen.  BUT it turns out that they no longer tattoo after the Christians  told them it was wrong… YES, the tribesmen/warriors were getting them for bringing decapitated human heads back to their village… but still. Women would also get tattooed when they were old enough to marry.  I just think cultures are beautiful and if you believe in God, okay, believe in Him, but don’t go changing a culture that has it’s own beliefs just because you have nothing better to do with your time.

5. I really want to work in an eco-village, in a tropical destination, near a picture-perfect beach, with an abundance of fresh fruit!!!

6. I need to put the final touches on my top secret project… I want to share it with the public.

7. I need to finish the itinerary for my sister and mom!  They are visiting in 6 weeks!!!!  How rad is that!?!?!

8. I want to travel around the world and party hop.  I want to experience partying with every culture. I want to participate in their ceremonies, festivals, parades, dance parties, mascarade balls, holidays and birthday parties.  Doesn’t that sound absolutely divine!!!

9. I need to get those files off my crashed laptop… I must salvage some of the photographs… OH, that is a blog just waiting to be written.  I’ve tried a few times, but tear up every time I start to tell the tale of woe…

10. …I should be grading papers, but after I post this blog, I’ll probably find more ways to procrastinate… I keep repeating to myself, ‘only 8 more days of intensives left.  only 8 more days of intensives left.  only 8 more days of intensives left.’

Hisptamatic Print – I was memorized by these kites on Yeouido Island during the Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul.

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Tracy, a friend I’ve known since the days of Junior High keeps a lovely blog of the things she does with her adorable 3 year old son, Noah.  I love reading it and feeling closer to her and getting to know Noah, even though I’ve never met him in person. On Tuesdays, she writes a post titled ’10 on Tuesday’ and I always enjoy her lists.  I thought I would try it out as well, anything to get me blogging on a more regular basis.

Today happens to be my mother’s birthday, so I thought I would do my first ’10 on Tuesday’ on 10 great things about my mom!

1. At 55 years old, she is still super beautiful!

2. She’s always there when I need her, whether I have a funny story to share or need to complain about something or when I just need to hear her voice.  Thank goodness for Skype!

3.  She always visits me!  Sometimes those trips were emergency moves (Chicago), or for graduations (Chicago, NYC), to have pizza and gelato with me and my sister (Phoenix), to explore new cities (I promise, it’s just one more block…).  AND in September, she’ll be venturing to South Korea with my sister to get naked in Jimjilbongs (Korean Sauna), sing in norebongs (Korean karaoke) and eat live octopus!  It will be her greatest adventure yet!!!

4.  It’s because of her that I’m obsessed with mailing cards and postcards.  Even thought they might not always get there on time…  Her years of thoughtfulness and caring have rubbed off on me a little!

5.  I’m pretty sure my love of photography started because of her (and my dad).  If you ever visit my family, they can keep you entertained for hours showing you photographs from our life. They have dozens of photo albums in chronological order starting with their wedding (they just celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary)!  AND I’m the only child with my own baby album (the joys of being the oldest)!

6. I love that she’s from Italy.  I love being Italian!

7. That’s she’s given up on trying to stop me from doing things… When I told her I was moving to South Korea to teach English, she told me to be careful.  When I used to tell her my crazy plans, she would try to stop me! I do  appreciate  it now, but I really did want to move to Hollywood to be a famous actress when I was 18!!

8. We always have fun together… playing scrabble, eating ice cream topped with my nana’s bootleg limoncello, going for a walk, spending the afternoon at an art museum, playing with puppies, making fun of my dad or nana, going shopping (even though she hates going shopping with me)…

9. My love of seafood, foreign films, art, peaches with wine, reading, basil, flowers,  thrift store/antique shopping, old music, nutella, traveling, postcards, photography, water … are all because of her!

10. One of my earliest memories that still makes me smile is sitting in the park with my mom and my sister while my mom made us flower chain bracelets, necklaces and crowns.  There was a pink elephant slide.  We just recently moved from Oklahoma to Colorado and I remember missing the people I used to see everyday but her flower jewelry and that pink slide made everything better… and all these years later, she still makes everything better!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Hipstamatic image from the Cherry Blossom Festival on Yeouido Island, in Seoul, South Korea.

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I am pleased to share with you a link to an article that was published about my work today on the website ‘IdeasTap’.  IdeasTap is an online magazine for young creative entrepreneurs and artists, offering inspiration, practical advice and links to the creative industry. You can access funding, promote your skills, meet new people and take part in live creative briefs as well as searching new work and opportunities.

Thank you Katie for interviewing me and writing up such a lovely article!

I often find myself doing yoga, drinking tea, learning Korean, and teaching English at one of my favorite little spots 산수다우너 (Sansutea) in Suwon, South Korea. Su-ni, the owner, is the most delightful woman. So sweet. So kind.  She’s also an amazing Yoga instructor, encouraging us to do positions like ‘the bird pose’, a currently impossible pose of balancing our knees on our elbows (!!). After I toppled over a few times, I put it on my mental ‘to-do list’.  Last week I added ‘jump rope for 7 minutes without stopping’ to that list as well, after one of my grade 3 students told me she won the citywide jump roping contest, in which the rules are simple:  You must jump rope for 7 minutes without stopping.

If you’re interested, yoga classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday at either 10am or 9pm. Sansutea is 2 blocks away from Yongtong Homeplus.   There is a green tea bonding experience afterward. The green tea is wild, handpicked, organic Korean mountain tea.  Tastes absolutely divine!

The other night I brought over my seeming endless piles of grading and ordered dinner.  Su-ni said she either had noodles or pizza.  Let’s just say, I never turn down pizza. Never! But, first I did ask if it had onions or kimchi.  With an answer of  ‘no’ to both questions, Su-ni set off for the kitchen and settled in for a few hours of grading.

Pizza, I wasn’t expecting something so exciting!  The dough was shredded potatoes, like a hashbrown, and piled on top were soft and crunchy veggies, cheese, a little fruit and even a few nuts.  It was delicious!  I’ve never thought about making pizza without dough, even with my allergy to wheat.  Thank You Su-ni!!!