To say that Disney Feature Animation has incubated and attracted some amazing talent would be a redundant understatement. Minjue Helen Chen works as a Visual Development Artist and recently became one of these artists. I had the fortune of hearing her speak at Nucleus' Art of Frankenweenie panel where she spoke about her role on the film and showed some of her development work. 

As her first independent publication, SPAM is well printed in full color and bound with a very friendly and familiar 8.5 x 5.5 indy pub sketchbook format and at 68 pages, it feels more substantial than some of its contemporaries. Helen signed and numbered each of the 500 and at 25$ retail, this is a great value for the content you are getting in this particular format.



There is a lot of fluidity but an edge to Helen's characters, which are mostly female. She is borrowing a bit of the Disney aesthetic to play with some non Disney themes, some of my favorites being her female versions of Kaneda and Tetsuo.



At some point all artists have or wanted to self publish an art book. Despite its origins as a portfolio keepsake,  with little to no written content, the self published sketchbook/art book has become a great tool for artists to scratch a certain creative itch while cataloging their work. It has become its own sub category amongst institution published art books and as much as we like the raw staple bound photo copied books, I hope there will be more produced around this level of quality and we look forward to carrying SPAM 2 in a year or so.





You can see more of Helen's work on her BLOG.

If you like her work I also highly recommend Elsa Chang's self published sketchbook, MINT CORRAL.

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Job Description:

• Assisting the gallery curator in preparing the gallery for hanging.
• Hands-on work with artwork. Hanging, wrapping, and breaking down shows.
• Researching artists and sponsors.
• Photography and image editing.
• Artwork entry and updates in our system.
• Assisting our Registrar or Store Manager with inventory maintenance and miscellaneous tasks.
• Basic retail store tasks such as ringing sales, restock received orders, researching new items.
• Designing signage and promotional material.
• Writing press releases, artist bios, and more.

• Passionate about working hands-on with gallery artwork.
• Friendly and works well in a team environment.
• Organized, professional, punctual, and strong desire for quality and excellent customer service.
• Eager to learn.
• Photoshop and Illustrator experience preferred.

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Currently showing in our Forest Carousel show May Ann Licudine, aka Mall, is a visual artist and freelance illustrator from La Union, Philippines.  Before completing her degree in Visual Communications and Painting, Mall started as a textile designer before becoming a painter and illustrator.  Her time spent in that industry has given her a developed color sense, complex composition, and use of texture.  We've asked her to tell us more about Babu and Abu, the lovable and mischievious characters we often see in her work.  Mall shares insightful information about why her work is so engaging.


I've read that Abu was inspired by your beloved cat that passed away. What inspired Babu? Who is he and where is he going?

- Winsor McCay's Nemo in Slumberland served as the inspiration in the creation of Babu. Nemo’s character  influenced me to create a male mirror image of me. With Babu, I was not just painting or making my dreams but I am living them.



What do Babu and Abu mean to you?

- They represent my alter ego. Whenever I feel bored or sad or down or blank, I walk around my garden to imagine Babu & Abu doing their adventure plans… until I get fresh ideas, then I’ll make doodles and sketches.

Do you think they are an extension of your desires, dreams, and yourself?

- Yes, they are. Through them, I am able to realize my dreams world and share it to other people. 



What is your art practice like? Is there a reason you like to work on wood?

-  I'm into painting. I conceptualized my ideas and expressed them in canvas and paper. However, I felt that prints lack the depth to convey my ideas so I tried wood and clay sculpturing. The two gave life to my ideas and the tactual experiences are more rewarding. 



Who are major influences in your work? Do books play a large role?

- Hayao Miyazaki, Winsor McCay, Maurice Sendak, Helen Hyde, Mary Blair, Satoshi Kon, Edward Gorey, many… and of course, God, which is always one of my biggest inspirations. Books provided the basic foundation in my arts.

Your sculptural pieces are as layered and fascinating as your paintings.  What led you to start including sculptural pieces?

- Thank you for appreciating them! My bestfriend Shandy RP from Indonesia knew that I love Studio Ghibli. He dared me to do a sculpture of Babu and Abu diorama. So I did it and it was good but very tedious. I worked with terra cotta clay during my college days and still have some of them which I used as background for some of my photos. 



Where do you see your work going in the future?

- Like all artist, I wish to see my art works in books, personal collections and probably in galleries worldwide. Personally, I want my arts to be part of a person happy memories and dreams. Like a “comfort art”.



See more from the show here
Check out more of Mall's work on her website

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Gaming fans should not miss the chance to don their most inspired cosplay at Saturday night's Ukiyo-e Heroes by Jed Henry.  Come in Nintendo/traditional Japanese attire.  The best dressed will recieve prizes in our costume contest that starts at 9:00pm.  Winners are determined by audience applause for a 15-second performance (mic provided).  Grand prize winner will receive the new Rickshaw Cart woodblock print, choice of a Ukiyo-e Heroes series giclée print, plus a $20 Nucleus gift card (total prize valued at $195!).  Three runners-up will receive a Ukiyo-e Heroes series giclée print of their choice.  Sign up for the contest at our front register before 8:45pm.

Learn more about the event here

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During this past Saturday's opening reception, we announced hourly raffle prizes in which some prizes were not claimed.  Below are a list of winning numbers.  If one of these numbers matches your raffle ticket, contact us by email at gallery@gallerynucleus.com to claim your prize before Saturday, August 25th.  Thanks!

522975
523011
523216
523102
522936
523173
523040
522938

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