Felicia Lee
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Sounds Current
Cover image for Del Sol String Quartet's podcast, Sounds Current, about their works relating to Angel Island. The brush strokes symbolize the Chinese carvings in the walls of the immigration station while resembling water flow and the path one must take to travel to the island. The podcast was selected for the Tribeca Festival and was awarded a gold Signal Award 2024.
To start, I analyzed “sounds” and “current to extract the different forms of meaning that could be derived from the intentionally ambiguous title. After drawing out ideas in my sketchbook, I transfered them to Adobe Illustrator and started experimenting with different tools.
However, I was not content with how I translated my sketches to the digital format, so I went back to brainstorming on paper. Sumi ink on newsprint was a much better medium to express what the podcast is embodying because the brush strokes have a much stronger sense of movement through water.
medium: Adobe Illustrator
San Francisco Garter Snake
The San Francisco Garter Snake is endangered. Their vibrant colors make them a target for collectors, and land development causes the decline of their freshwater pond habitat.
Constraints: endangered animal from a place I've lived, 6 colors, no gradients, illustrator, 11x17, text (title, sub, body)
Considerations: color, style, abstraction vs accuracy, framing, text, storytelling
timeline: 3 weeks
medium: Adobe Illustrator
Process:
Animation
By creating a frame-by-frame animation, I had to understand the fundamental movement of the snake to accurately depict it. Every frame of the sequence acts as a transitions to the next, which I think is a crucial step in understanding animation before moving towards a more computer aided process. (60 frames)
timeline: 1 week
medium: Adobe Illustrator
Natural Process | an earthworm's digestive system
Based on the different components and functions of a worm’s digestive organs, I created a fantastical mechanism that replicates the process of digestion.
The soil rejuvenator replicates the digestive system of an earthworm. The exterior is an ergonomic scoop with an intake and outtake. In the interior, there are four main components that perform the functions of their relative earthworm organs. After the initial intake, a compartment with semi-permeable screens balances the pH and calcium levels of the soil. The soil is then stored in a large cylinder until it is ready for further digestion. Further inward, the soil goes through a series of expandable compressors which physically demolish particles in the soil. Finally the mush goes through a pipe connected to cylindrical tanks which facilitate chemical degradation. It is then pushed out as small pebbles of fully rejuvenated fertile soil called castings.
medium: pen, pastels, copics
A Dust In Time
Professionally commissioned coloring book for the Del Sol String Quartet to be published with their CD recording of A Dust In Time featured in the NY Times. I pushed the boundaries of what a mandala could be while staying connected to traditional roots. The purpose of the book was to create a meditative coloring experience for the audience while they listened to the recording. To achieve that, I listened to the recording myself while drawing, and incorporated architectural aspects of the cathedral where the piece was first performed. Nature, especially how Andy Goldsworthy manipulates it, heavily inspired many pieces.
medium: pencil, pen
Papilio bianor
I meticulously analyzed the form of this butterfly to produce a series of illustrations: single centered silhouettes and combined forms. I then moved to approximating the butterfly as a rectangle to study and understand color, then exploring what a collage means. Finally, I created a lamp shade using the wing form for my dorm to change the sterile atmosphere.