Her Notebook

The Loss of Sight

An assignment to portray the anxiety of losing sight.
A short clip prepared for Claire Brunet’s Special Focus Nature Class/ OCAD 2009
Music of Influence: Teagan and Sarah- Hell

“Now I just sit here watching you burn away. All those notes never had a play to hear the music of what you had to say. Stay. I could hook up my heart to your ears and let my tears be your morphine drip. So I hold my breath instead of watching you go. Stay….Write me a poem to make me happy”- Shane Koyczan

What happens if I get to do Nuit Blanche in Toronto?
I’d close a subway station down….and turn it into this:

How pissed would people be? Would it be a roadblock, or something to admire? You decide.

The Fence
When asked to propose what my idea of “ownership” means, this is what came to mind. It was built and executed for my Body and Object Class at OCAD. This is the write up:

The construction of my installation stemmed from the idea of “ownership” and the institution of marriage. In using symbolism and metaphor, I wanted to portray the idea of marriage as ownership . Growing up, the idea of marriage has had to change for me as I identified with the idea of “family” meaning that one parent was higher then the other in regards to power and say in a relationship. This poses the question of “ownership” in a marriage and if it exists between two people who promise to spend the rest of their lives together.

Creatively, the assignment was put together with multiple long pieces of wood found in a dumpster near Church and Wellesley. I nailed them together creating the idea of a fence, leaving no room to pier through. The white fence with black hinges slowly faded into broken pieces of wood with a rough texture and scattered nails throughout. There is a latch in the upper right hand side that does not come together with its other component. There are two wedding bands on either side of it with a string tied to the latch. The fence sits propped up on the wall. The scale of work is approximately 4” x 6” in width and height.

Conceptually, there is a wide range of symbolism in the piece constructed. The idea of a fence barricades a certain section from another. It creates boundaries and rules, the accessible versus the non accessible. There is no room left between one piece of wood and another. This leaves little to no room to peer within or between each piece to see what is going on behind them. This symbolizes the private unhappiness and struggle that neighbours, friends and family do not get to see in a marriage.

The application of white paint symbolizes the idea of perfection and the suburban way of life. Living in the suburbs isolates a stay at home mom from her family and friends, which is something I have personally come to understand through my family unit and friends in new marriages. The fence’s unfinished painted job represents the attempt of marriage and love and how it can fade over time. This idea has now transcended into my work of seeing the constant struggle between my parents growing up in a tense household.

The fence latch on the far right hand does not allow both pieces to match up. They were built to work together, yet they are dysfunctional if unmatched. Although two pieces are made to fit, they will not work if they do not come together, like a partnership. One wedding band sits on the long portion of the latch with more range to be taken off and on. Another wedding band sits clasped in the latch with out range or movement. One holds more freedom then the other. This connects on another personal level for myself, as one ring belonged to my father and the other to my mother. This, in turn connects to the idea of ownership and one partner who sets boundaries and rules over the other.

The piece was constructed to question the institution of marriage, free range and to question if you completely give yourself to someone, what exactly does that mean? Does it mean completely giving up your freedom and happiness? Does it mean being barricaded and restricted from spaces, isolation and decision making? Does marriage actually mean ownership? Is a completely balanced marriage actually an achievable reality? I wish for these questions to be asked when this piece is displayed and for people to think more critically about the idea of matrimony and power dynamics within the family unit.

These are a few shots taken for Marcelo and his family. He just started walking a few days prior to these shots so it was beautiful to see him exploring new ground. It was one of the nicest days we’ve had in the city all summer and I tried to wait for a good time for lighting. I wanted to create a heavy contrast with colour and it helped that Marcelo was wearing a vibrant orange shirt. It’s always fun to watch them explore as I take shots. I attempt to not interrupt their flow so I could get natural and candid shots of their movement and curiosity.

I wanted to capture intense shadow and hue combinations with the luminous blue sky and vivid green grass at his feet. His big blue eyes jumped out of each shot and it helped  that he wasn’t very shy, either! It was a pleasure shooting these shots as a gift from his aunt to him for his first birthday!

So this is the way it works.
This is Juice.
He came in and wanted a pisces tattoo on his shoulder. He seemed like a good enough guy to poke fun of because, everyone does their zodiac sign and he wanted something original. I thought that we could so something a little more intense.
This is where Ray and I collaborated. Ray is the tat artist I apprentice under from L.A. He gave me free range to attempt to draw a heart ripping out of Juice’s chest. No pressure.
The design worked. It was approved by Ray and he dabbled into his magic.

I love watching drawings come to life. Ray has been tattooing for years so to pass my work to him and have him approve it is flattering. He makes minor adjustments here and there, but this one he liked. I liked it a lot. Juice wanted his last name on his stomach so our other tat artist Wendy finished him up.
This was the process of the procedure. I figure now that I have been watching and contributing to design work–when my time comes to officially start inking, I’ll be ready.
Keep checkin’ in! I’ll be returning to school @ OCAD this September, majoring in Sculpture while apprenticing. I look forward to the next few months.
Lu

As a way to get my hands dirty, I began designing Tattoos for clients as they came in to the shop.
Custom made jobs after a 10 minute consultation of just talking it out led to days full of designs as the artists I apprentice for kept their hands busy with their machines. Things can get pretty intense at the shop with walk ins and appointments, so helping out as much as I can to make our clients happy with custom work is always a good thing.
Making drawings that can be transformed into tattoos is an art in itself and I am still working on making minor adjustments here and there with designs. Here are a few in the time I have been there:

It’s always a pleasure to see my work transformed into something permanent on the skin. Such a kool experience.
If interested in having your tattoo designed, throw me a line @
lp@luisapariselli.com

Well…I’m trying.
As of right now, I am in my 4th week of apprenticing at Inkworx Tattoo. So far I have been designing custom pieces for clients and doing whatever needs to be done around the shop. You gotta learn from the bottom and move your way up. I will be moving forward and spending more time watching this amazing Tat artist up from L.A. He has worked along side Paul Booth and Kat Von Dee and says he’ll go easy on me…but I need to respect this art form. His techniques and methods have taken him years to learn..and to only touch upon them, I need to pay my dues!

I know I have so much to learn.
From assembling the machine, to tearing down a station to setting up a station…to shading…to fine lining…to understanding colour and cross contamination…..
I mean, its one thing to know how to draw and paint, but it is something entirely different to learn how to tattoo with precision.
So after these few weeks at Inkworx, I have received the honour to tattoo…on grapefruit. That’s right.

Holding the machine is nothing like the pen. The weight of the motor at the top sends your hand into turbulence!
I think one of the hardest things to follow was seeing how deep I was going into the fruit. Once citrus liquid started pouring out….that meant I was going too deep…obviously! It smelt really nice though. Another thing I found difficult was focusing on following my lines with all the ink you have to wipe away. This comes with practice.

I will be posting more updates as my apprenticeship develops over the next few months. I am completely devoting all of my time to learning this form of art. I just need to learn how to use this new tool. These are some of the pix from today at the shop.

I can’t wait to document the process.

Cheers,
Now known as

“Girl Lu” @ Inkworx

The buzz is not just gossip!
Lu is officially apprenticing as a Tattoo Artist under the direction and guidance of some of the greatest Tat artists from Toronto and Mexico @ Inkworx in Vaughan, ON.
Lu is still maintaining her placement as a tattoo designer at the shop while also learning the art of inking.
www.inkworxtattoo.ca

If interested in an appointment, quote or design consultation,
please email lp@luisapariselli.com

Inkworx Tattoo and Piercing
Vaughan, ON
(Hwy 7 & Jane)
20 Edgelely Blvd. Unit 12B