Day 5091: Felicia Chiao's Illustrations & Lacrimal puncta.

"The Blues": junk paper collage, ink, digital.

 

  

Want music?

    Click: John Barry, Out of Africa.

2GN2S

Felicia Chiao's Characters in Surreal Scenarios 

Artist Felicia Chiao is known for her warm illustrations that capture emotion and the variances of mental health through surreal, flower-filled scenes. Working in pencil, ink, and watercolor, the artist renders compositions that feel both timeless and indicative of our current age, in which the anxieties and tribulations of life today emerge through curious characters.

“When I was really little, I wanted to be one of those stackable chairs you’d see in like a school auditorium,” Felicia Chiao says. “I thought they looked cozy.” This childhood memory is the basis for a playful drawing in which Chiao’s signature characters mound atop one another. Layering reigns in this imagined world as calendars and clocks emerge from the wall in dense piles, while stacks of books and dishes rest on the floor.

Alongside her largely domestic scenes, Chiao has also been adding to her growing collection of Lunar New Year drawings, which feature the animal of the year set against a gilded and crimson backdrop.

Play and constraint also figure prominently into the artist’s approach. “I did a very cool collaboration with Heath Ceramics last year, and while it was a completely different medium than what I am used to, I think it has influenced my drawing process,” she says. “I’ve been experimenting with more mixed media (watercolor, color pencil, markers, sometimes a little gouache or gel pen).” The mats for frames are similar, as she enjoys the challenge of customizing the otherwise stark white material to complement her works.

This October, Chiao will open a solo show with Harman Projects and has several exhibitions slated for the coming years. She offers a variety of prints through her shop, and you can keep up with her latest works and collaborations on Instagram

   

Most people never notice the tiny openings located near the inner corners of their eyelids, but these small structures perform an important job every day.

Known as lacrimal puncta, these tiny holes are part of the body's tear drainage system. Each eye typically has two puncta, one on the upper eyelid and one on the lower. Every time you blink, excess tears are guided toward these openings instead of remaining on the surface of the eye.

The tears then travel through tiny channels called canaliculi, which carry the fluid into the lacrimal sac, a small reservoir located beside the nose. From there, the tears move down the nasolacrimal duct and eventually drain into the nasal cavity.

This hidden connection explains a familiar experience: when people cry, their noses often start running. The tears produced by the eyes do not simply fall down the cheeks. Many of them are routed through this drainage system directly into the nose.

The process works continuously throughout the day, helping keep the eyes comfortable, clean, and properly lubricated.

It's a remarkable example of how the human body contains small but highly efficient systems that most people rarely notice, despite using them every time they blink.

 

  

 

A 5 minute video, Life, here.

 

 

Just because ...

Grey-cowled wood rail

Sunday's Smiles ... 

 

Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.