Lunar New Year

I create a modern interpretation for each Lunar New Year celebration (January or February). I started with my own zodiac animal — the horse — in 2014. The following year, I began theming each illustration using the year's element. There are 12 animals in the cycle, and 5 elements, equaling 60 different combinations I am working on illustrating over the course of 60 years.

Lunar New Year is my favorite holiday which I experienced as a young child through banquets and parades. As a mixed Chinese-/Sicilian-American, I feel a sense of freedom in how I explore Chinese culture artistically; since I myself am mixed, this series art is likewise a remix of centuries' old tradition and celebration of multicultural identity.

Check out my Artist Spotlight in Boston Hassle (2017) for a full narrative on how this project unfolded.

2024: Year of the Wood Dragon

2024: Year of the Wood Dragon

This piece was created in July, months after the Lunar New Year holiday (February 10, 2024). Our second baby was due shortly before the holiday — rather than push myself to meet a deadline, I wanted to honor the preciousness of this season and let the artwork come in its own time.

There are two aspects to this artwork:

Orchids: A few days before our son was born, our orchid plant started blooming! It was dormant for a few months. I knew it was not dead because its leaves were alive, but I had no idea when it would bloom again. I believe the blooming was triggered by a cold snap the week before. The magical blooming felt like a symbol of our baby boy who would join the world soon. The plant also fits in with the element of 2024, wood.

Resting Dragon: For years, I was looking forward to drawing a dragon for Lunar New Year 2024. My favorite color is red and I love the intensity of dragons. However, that aesthetic and energy did not feel inviting for what has so far been a rather unsettled year for our family. In the Year of the Dragon 2024, it is not intensity that I crave but tranquility. So, here a dragon rests peacefully and is illustrated in soft colors and textures.

2023: Year of the Water Rabbit

2023: Year of the Water Rabbit

This piece is themed around my father, who was born in a Rabbit year. The artwork shows an elder gray rabbit representing him and a young gold rabbit representing my blond 1 year old daughter (who was actually born in the Year of the Ox 2021, so not a Rabbit).

I captured their handprints to cement in time how small my daughter is right now, and I love seeing their handprints side by side. Naturally, the toddler handprint has some motion, which I didn't try to control or fix, because it's perfect the way it is.

2023 is a water year so I used blue for the background color with wavy brush strokes.

2022: Year of the Water Tiger

2022: Year of the Water Tiger

Illustrated here are two of our cats in tiger form. When they sat side-by-side like this (looking me right in the eye) I knew instantly it was the starting point for this year's artwork. 2022 marks 10 years since graduating from MIT. For the water theme, I revisited a technique I used in my undergraduate thesis project senior year, where I used watercolor on trace paper and let the water create ripples in the paper as it dried.

2021: Year of the Earth Ox

This is the first animated, musical Lunar New Year greeting I've created. I've been playing with sound and animation for various projects recently (at work and at home), and am also learning to play the xylophone, so it was a fun opportunity to integrate those areas of my life into the annual artwork. To go with the earth theme, the photo in the background shows the ground in my backyard, which was partially covered with snow and ice in the days leading up to Lunar New Year 2021.

2020: Year of the Gold Rat

2020: Year of the Gold Rat

This is a twist on the story of how the Rat became the first in the zodiac.

According to Wikipedia: "An ancient folk story tells that the Jade Emperor decreed that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they reached him. To get there, the animals would have to cross a river." The story follows that the Rat jumped on the Ox for a ride across, then jumped off to land in first place.

In this artwork, the Rat is still clever, but also incredibly strong and fearless when it comes to swimming. The Rat is one with the waves and dives underwater to collect golden treasure (the element for the year 2020 is metal/gold). This reflects the rigor and momentum I had in 2020, which translated into the launch of several successful personal and professional projects.

2019: Year of the Earth Pig

2019: Year of the Earth Pig

I got married in 2019...What could make sense with a pig and a wedding? A piggy bank.

2018: Year of the Earth Dog

2018: Year of the Earth Dog

This illustration was themed around our engagement. The terriers in the picture are my in-laws' pets. In addition to the soil and grass, the element of earth is represented by diamonds spelling out the year.

2016: Year of the Fire Rooster

2017: Year of the Fire Rooster

The setting for this year's artwork is based on Southern California. At the time I was creating the artwork, the only event I have on my calendar for the year 2017 was my cousin's wedding there, so that became my inspiration. It turned out that wedding would be postponed to another year.

2016: Year of the Fire Monkey

2016: Year of the Fire Monkey

This fire-themed year's art references the wood element of the previous year by depicting wood burning in a campfire, representing a transformation of the old into the new. This monkey looks a little like a cat. At the time I was working on this illustration, I was babysitting my now-husband's cat who I think inspired me.

2015: Year of the Wood Goat

2015: Year of the Wood Goat

This was the first time I used the element of the year as inspiration for the artistic concept. I think of goats as typically being white, so I picked a white tree, birch, as the goat's environment. The knobs on the birch trunks look a bit like goat's eyes, too.

2014: Year of the Wood Horse

2014: Year of the Wood Horse

This was my first Lunar New Year illustration, largely inspired by artwork on lucky red envelopes (gold illustrations on red paper). The horse is the animal of the year I was born in (1990).