i want this: it all leads back to prada

not too long ago, ucla hosted the annual l.a. times festival of books. as an undergrad at ucla, i would go because it was convienent and i had a parking pass. nowadays, if i want to go, i would have to make a real effort to do so because it's on the other side of town and driving on the 10 freeway is not my idea of fun...not so much going there, but the going back home traffic. though i technically don't drive much since my fiance does the chauffeuring, but my butt still gets numb from sitting too long. either way, BAD...and yes i do ramble.

anyways, when my sis found out that an artist she jocked was having a signing at the festival of books, she suggested that we go. not wanting to say "no" to my little sis, the whole pack of us piled into my fiance's car and off we went to ucla. oh my, i forget how lovely this place is!

walking around the campus sure brought back a lot of memories....

and the day was crazy crowded. look at the human ant hill we have here. i'm just amazed people still read given the fact that every day in my teacher life, i struggle to GET children to read.

but seriously, reading for entertainment has gone down the dumps as people trade print for other distractions no? oh sadness if that is the case. there is something magical about getting lost in a book...which reminds me:

as we milled about, the sheer number of people closing in on us made our decision clear and quick. do we book ass to the signing and then GO HOME? boring? probably. sane? most definitely yes.

we finally found her artist, james jean. he looks like a young dude, but probably not. you know what they say about asians looking young right? he is no exception. this mofo is 30 years old! but holy crap, he looks like a baby.....anyways, he creates some pretty amazing artwork. disturbing, yet beautiful, with a touch of disneyland. it's hard to describe so go google his work and you decide for yourself.

i was pretty taken by this particular print that was available on site, but did not want to cough the $80 to take it home, even if it meant he was going to sign it which would have made it extra special. it is rather clear to me the things i choose to spend my money on. but pretty though, don't you think?

after the signing, we visited the ucla student store to pick up some gear. during the ride home in horrible traffic, i asked my sis if james jean ever did anything else because his artwork looked so familiar to me but i couldn't figure out why. as soon as she uttered out, "he designed some bag..." i yelled out PRADA! of course, james jean designed the fairy bags that i was drooling over in 2008 but it was too late for me to nab a bag during that time because it was so popular (check out post 1 and post 2). dude, if i had that bag, i would have TOTALLY asked him to sign it...and i wonder if it would have looked weird if i did. anyways, what i wouldn't have paid for a picture, i would have certainly paid for a bag and that fairy bag james jean designed was hawt!