2017 The Year in Review - Part 2

The day we moved in Van Der Kock arrived at 3 am and was the first person to take a shower in our new apt.  A few days later we rented this party van and went upstate to Canisteo for an epic 4th of july weekend

The second annual International Alternative Sports Tournament of Champions 2017 LLC Working Title (IASTC) concludes.  This year archery was added.

a sudden unexpected trip to Canisteo under sad circumstances.  Brody's bone cancer had spread and he passed away.  

Rest in peace Brody, what a guy.  and since time has taken the sadness away a little bit you can smile now knowing that there is now a new addition to the Raish family Newfs in 2018,  I'll show you some pictures here soon.

my arch nemesis strikes again and again and again.

the garden was more successful than I could have imagined.  We had a ton of rounds of tomatoes, jalepenos, buttercruch lettuce, Mizuna red streaks, scallions, swish chard, basil, cilantro, thyme, gobo.  The disappointing one was the sweet pepper plant which only produced 3 peppers.  The self watering planters probably played a big role in the success of the garden.  Next year i'm going to double the size!

Ai and James got married in wine country, in Calistoga, CA in the Napa valley.  In october a huge wildfire sprung up and it seems the Calistoga avoided most of it but smoke damage caused the loss of half the grape harvest.

a dream of mine was to taste Chad Robertson's bread from Tartine in San Francisco and it was amazing.

Kelly and Michael's kid Callum turned one.  Don't become an artist kid unless you like being poor.

partial solar eclipse

crashing the Nam family crab fest in Annapolis

a 90s concert at Wolftrap featuring the likes of Montell Jordan and TLC and a crowd of middle aged people trying to relieve their youth.

Jen's last day at work, we celebrated with a rooftop camping sesh.

the fall crops coming in.

a sudden rain storm in Connecticut.  The car keys got lost and I hurt my ankle on a motorcycle again.  We would have to get a new key made and come back to get the car.

Jonathan and Katie got married in Brooklyn and I was one of the witnesses.

Bob had to go to the Hyundai dealership in harlem to get a new key made but at least we got to eat amazing Puerto Rican food and see the New York public library sandwiched between two Church of Scientology buildings.

back in Connecticut with Jill and Derek, the key worked, we saw escaped sheep and we have the car back.  We heard blue grass music when driving home after this hike so we turned around and had a drink at a cool bar.

the next weekend we picked apples in Canisteo and turned it into hard cider.  we would have to wait 2 months after we got back from Korea to find out that it worked and is delicious.

also found a tick burrowed in me after we got home in my thigh!  I went to the doctor to get tick antibiotics just to be safe.

saw several shows in 2017, War Paint, M. Butterfly, some performace at the Alvin Ailey dance center, Buffy Saint-Marie at the Lincoln Center.

started this series of 1950s styled ladies with tattoos playing croquet.  This series would later be chosen for the Society of Illustrators annual show

my book for Scholastic finally published.

We went to Korea for Jen's dad's 70th birthday, a big one in Korean culture.  Since Jen wasn't working or going to school I said we should just stay there for a month because Jen hasn't experience Korea life without her fam really and this was probably the only time in our life we could do this.  So we were in Korea for a month, stayed at 2 air bnb's and hunkered in for a very cold Korean december.  Pyeongchang (2018 winter olympics site) is an hour from Jen's parents house so we went for a look and that's we could do because nothing was ready for tourists yet in late november.  Here is the huge ski jump platform.

I got to experience Korea with a Korean family for the first time, here are the Yoo women playing Yut.

a big night out in Hongdae with the younger members of the fam.

street fooooood

gave a talk to Jungyeon Roh's class

Jen's first dakkalbi and a must eat experience in Korea.

got a seal with my Korean name

craft beer has taken off in Korea, here i Amazing Brewing out in Seoul Forrest.

our airbnb in Itaewon.  those were the days.  Working half days with the heated floors while Jen is learning photoshop and indesign, drinking tea and then going out and exploring.  That one winter in Seoul.

Jen's first screen golf

Hip Hop concert

Jen's first gamjatang, one of my favs

our little real korean christmas tree

the last night in korea went very late and lots of drinks with JP, just like the old days.  The poor guy only made it through half a day of work before having to go home.  We had a flight to catch, of course the last night turned into a late one.  What a month in Korea!

wasn't able to traditionally paint this year's card so I did it digitally in Korea.

another Canisteo Christmas with the Raish brothers.

the most epic sled run of my life.  Jen made gamjatang for new years, bob and the bartletts came over and the end of 2017 went. 

What a year.  2 trips to Asia, successful beer and cider brewing, an epic 4th of july weekend, a successful rooftop garden, Jen's end of employment, moving to a new apartment, mexico city, San Fran and Oakland, Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts recognition, a kids book, and the passing of Brody the newf.  It was our first year married.  I don't really know what 2018 has in store for me and us.  Jen is going to graphic design school for a year and I'm going to keep grinding away at illustration.  I have to start planting seeds for the rooftop garden that's going to be double in size.  Bob's gonna move into his own place, Mom's new puppy Cormac will get big.  Who knows what else will happen.  Also going to break 1000 blog posts in 2018.  You can see it all on this here blog.    

2017 The Year in Review - Part 1

once again its time for the year in review.  This time its 2017.  These are not necessarily the best photos of the year, but ones that represent moments good or bad that made 2017 one to remember.

Women's march 2017

3 of my Morgenthal Frederics pieces hanging on the wall of the Society of Illustrators annual advertising/institutional/uncommishioned show.

finally got a couch, wedding present from the parents.  Adulting

got this super cool walnut belt driven turn table from U-Turn audio.

this illustration about Chopin's cat like sensibilities would be chosen for the Society of Illustrators annual show 

collecting records

got to see steven's horrible sledding skills twice in 2017

Illo for the cover of the Progressive, March 2017

a successful brew

Mexico city Lucha Libre for Yoon's sort of bachelor's weekend

oh the food in Mexico City!!!

Yoon got married and the next day we flew to Japan for our honeymoon a year later

but Air China had different plans for us.  Flight was delayed so long that we had to stay in Beijing because we missed out connecting flight to Osaka.  Luckily I used to live there and was able to call up Zizzo and he took us out on the town.  What a good guy and what a way to turn lemons into lemonade.

the next day we made it to Osaka and stayed with Akira and Masami who were so nice to us.  It was cool seeing them play at a members only tiny club somewhere in Osaka.

my favorite time and place in the universe Maruyama Koen in Kyoto at cherry blossom time.  I've been wanting Jen to experience this and it was Jen's first time in Japan.

wandering around Arashiyama is just fantastic, and so are tanukis.

Akira and Masami told us about this down and dirty okonomi yaki place in the Tenjin Bashi Shotengai in Osaka, it's called chigusa

then for second dinner she took us to this sushi place of their friend Hiroshi Shibasaki and I asked him to make us non standard stuff and it was amazing.

then we went to a super sento bathhouse which is another of my favorite things to do.  This was a cold room with snow falling in it.

saw a bunch of tokyo buddies and did more hanami in Shinjuku gyoen.  Too bad Jen didn't get to see its luxurious grass in season.

we moved onto night hanami (yozakura) in Yoyogi park and it was a sloppy party scene so from there on out it was a giant party night ending at 5am because Steven and his brother happened to be visiting Japan at the same time and we all met up with Agnes and Taka and combined friends.  This is Rock No Cocoro bar in Shibuya in that building that is a pogoda of bars.

saw JP cuz he was in Tokyo for business.  Ate more sushi, stayed with John and Masako in their swank apt, ate ramen, walked along the cherry blossom lined river in Meguro

the seaweed market somewhere in Seoul Jen's parents took us to

The Yoo family golf course in Wonju

my new favorite thing to eat in Korea, Makguksoo, black spicy buckwheat noodles

Tokyo again with more buddies.  Other highlights were Tsukiji market, the Ghibli museum, wandering around Shimokitazawa.

I really like Nara, it's out of the way and you can just resign  yourself to wandering around at a slower pace, not affected by the crowds of Kyoto.  The deer of course are a nice touch.

here's to discovering new corners at Fushimi Inari Taisha at the top of the mountain.  I think this place will keep on giving and I'll never see all of it.

possibly the best bar I've been to in Japan.  Kyle Stecker told us about this place run by Kai Fusayoshi and everyone was so friendly 

we stayed at a couple ryokans.  We had a great time and I'm glad Jen got to experience Japan with me.  We are thrilled.

Mother's day in Canisteo, Steven was bob's replacement.  It was still cold and I flipped over in Mom's little unstable kayak and it was horrible and freezing.  I also had the post honeymoon blues pretty badly, seeing a glimpse of my old life and Japan and having fun not in America for 3 weeks really depleted my happiness reserves but there were other things on the horizon for me in 2017 and it was only May.

3 newfs.

full page illo for Banana Magazine about asian american identity.  This would later be chose for the Communication arts annual

still in Carroll Gardens but preparing for moving to Park Slope and the roof top garden I've dreamed of.  The miracle of life playing out on my windowsill.

Moved to Carroll gardens with the help of Bob, thanks bobbers.  Prior to moving day we periodically moved tons of stuff in the car after work.  Of course as life would have it there were many things that were wrong and had to be fixed.  The gas company were being big a holes and made it insanely difficult to get our gas turned on after the previous tenant's relationship went south and the girl moved out with the gas in her name and didn't pay the bill for months.  Also had to get this pipe installed or else the gas guy would go away, all whilst simultaneously dealing with the building management company and the super.  Also the key to this boiler room was lost so I bought a lock picking kit and tried for hours and finally had to call a lock smith.  We spent many days painting the apt and the ceiling which was a horrible neck breaking day.  But we finally live in a 2 bedroom apt with a rooftop deck, washer dryer and dishwasher, south facing super sunny windows, elevator.  Thanks Papa Yoo!

another Jazz Age Lawn Party on governor's island

the Summer entry in my giant breed dogs and fashion girls series.  This was inspired by my first ever gardening experience