ASHES IN ORANGE PEELS

today

2011-10-28T00:08:00.001-07:00

out of my dreams...

2011-10-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been a crazy mix of tremendous work at the gallery, including the start of The Small Ad Shop, (a boutique advertising firm that will operate alongside saltfineart) AND an overwhelming desire to throw myself into new creative projects at home.

Lately, I've been exploring my background in illustration and design, finding myself less inclined towards defining myself as a fine artist with HUGE panels. I am working small again. Above is the finished illustration for Joy Shannon's latest album tentatively entitled "Out of My Dreams." This piece was completed in about two days after spending weeks trying to wrap my head around an earlier design on a much bigger panel. I realized, in part through this project, that I tend to chase ideals that I do not bother to fully categorize or even plan towards. I just run, run as fast as I can towards what I want without any real thought as to WHAT and WHY and HOW.

How that translates into my art as a whole is unfortunately a lot of wasted panels with half-expressed ideas. I get bored and move on or get intimidated and flee or just get distracted by another idea/goal. At any rate it's a very inefficient way of going about things and I've decided to make a concerted effort towards finishing anything I find worthwhile in starting.

a.k.a Don't Panic

with cigarettes you hand rolled

2011-10-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

Telepathy diptych

2011-10-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

General Officer 10 x 8 inches pyrography, graphite, acrylic and colored pencil on board

I am posting original work from my recent exhibition in Long Beach plus a few new pieces on my etsy page. I am the most excited about my recently completed Telepathy diptych. It took me the better part of the last two weeks to complete (all that herringbone fabric rendered for hours and hours...crazy). They are being sold as individual panels on purpose. I like the idea that even though they were created to be together there is a chance they could be separated.

Melodramatic much?

It's hard not to be in awe of all our collective human experiences though. I pour through countless antique photographs, at flea markets and online looking into the faces of individuals to find the few that I feel compelling to recreate and I am always wondering who they were in life, if they had a happy life filled with love and excitement or a tragic one. The faces always become manipulated by my feelings as I create the work and I believe that how I imagine their lives to have been comes through.

Officer's Wife 10 x 8 inches pyrography, graphite, acrylic and colored pencil on board

cecilia paredes at saltfineart

2011-10-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

Cecilia Paredes is renown for her performance, photography, sculpture and installation. Using her body as canvas, she paints herself into backgrounds of damask and chintz, forests and deserts. But she never completely blends ----never becomes mere decoration. Paredes is a part of the permanent collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Panama Modern Museum, Museo del Barrio New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design Costa Rica among many other institutions. In 2010 she will have a a solo show at the Moscow Modern Museum of Art and a Fulbright sponsored show at the Cultural Institute in Lima.

For more information call 949.715.5554 or visit saltfineart.com

liam lynch is awesome

2011-10-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

i adore this guy for all time as it is and then i check up on his website and find that he has graciously covered the Doctor Who theme song. be still my heart... check it out HERE

and just because...

sports and recreation

2011-09-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

We were definitely shopping along a theme yesterday...

tomorrow's ghosts, today

2011-09-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Getting back into writing, rewriting/editing older (rejected) work but more importantly getting around to new stuff. Here is a little paragraph I worked on last night.

...But she said something pertaining to the end of the earth that resonated with me. "Everyone experiences their own apocalypse. There is no human race after you die." Being catastrophically afraid of death and the concept of nothing happening in the hereafter beyond enriching the soil around you, I thought about that for a surprising length of time. Minutes, as I seemingly stared into the abyss: my left foot. The mud from our afternoon hike was drying and at the point of flaking off. The only thing I could come up with was this: Life is random and mind-blowingly breathtaking as a result. We laugh and it becomes absurd, we cry and it becomes tragically absurd but nothing patterns out in a way that we can anticipate. For any control freak worth their salt, death becomes the thing you want to focus on either from a point of fear or a point of fascination. A bit of dried mud fell and I felt a wave of despair and annoyance rise up from the center of my chest.

God damn it, I just swept.

It is the thing that will happen no matter what.

happy birthday cha!

2011-09-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Charlotte Perez turned 31 last night and we threw a little surprise party for her. She is a squirrel (not actually) and so it made sense to play off of that for the theme. I put this flyer together with the initial plan of plastering it in a three block radius around her house, but I ran out of time. So it just made it's way to her front door and all over the backyard. It was priceless to see her walk into the party clutching this with a very startled look on her face. Oh yeah...we're on to you Cha. It was only a matter of time before you were taken down.

Later we went to The Swinging Door in downtown Tustin which, if you haven't been, is one of the best bars in Southern California. But don't tell anyone.

Cha and Will being Squirrels together

Cha with her new tattoo sleeve at The Swinging Door

marco mazzoni

2011-09-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

CASTOR AND POLLUX colored pencils on paper 55 x 45 cm, 2011

PROTECT ME colored pencils on paper 30 x 40 cm, 2011

nothing will be the same ever again

2011-09-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

am was.  are leaves few this.  is these a or
scratchily over which of earth dragged once
-ful leaf.  & were who skies clutch an of poor
how colding hereless.  air theres what immense
live without every dancing.  singless on-
ly a child's eyes float silently down
more than two those that and that noing our
gone snow gone
yours mine
. We're
alive and shall be:cities may overflow(am
was)assassinating whole grassblades,five
ideas can swallow a man;three words im
-prison a woman for all her now:but we've
such freedom such intense digestion so
much greenness only dying makes us grow

- ee cummings

ghosts in black windows, the handbag factory LA

2011-08-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

friday night

2011-08-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

My bookmark reminded me of a really beautiful shop my friend Kellie took me to in Portland

By Boe

"Palace resides in Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood at the corner of 34th and Belmont. Curating the coveted wardrobe with a focus on classic yet progressive designs, we at Palace adore quality materials and rare finds. This is a store stocked with the items you’ll reach for every morning when getting dressed. The item you will wear for three days straight and forget it’s there, for it has become part of you."

Marketa NY

And it's true! I bought two things that are now a permanent part of me: A leather knot ring by By Boe and a soft suede clutch by Czech designer Marketa. I forgot to wear my ring today and I kept touching my finger to find it. The clutch now holds my two prize accessories (phone and sun glasses).

a secret conspiracy between every inside and every outside

2011-08-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Victor Hugo Zayas, Rock Series, inspired by Alan Watts

saltfineart will be exhibiting a portion of Victor Hugo Zayas' ROCK SERIES along with his sculpture, drawings and large-scale paintings. Opening this coming Thursday, September 1st, from 6 - 9pm. We are also presenting a cocktail hour the night of the opening. Information below:

In an exciting prequel to his solo show at the Laguna Art Museum

please join us for a

VIP COCKTAIL

Hosted by Sarah Thorne-Markman

with

VICTOR HUGO ZAYAS

featuring a special presentation by renown art critic

Peter Frank

(starting at 6:30)

sweet lady day

2011-08-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

with her boxer Mister

Billie playing amongst old friends including her dear friend Lester Young (who gave her the nickname Lady Day) with whom she has an amazing rapport

action of course aka man the rails

2011-08-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

If anyone reading this finds themselves anywhere around the area of Livingston Montana, I highly recommend attending this opening. Robert Porte is an amazing painter, one that suspends your disbelief so perfectly that you feel as if you are in the possession of answers to questions you don't remember asking. I actually get that feeling from the man himself. Whenever we have a chance to spend time together (which isn't often enough) he leaves me with a profound feeling of LIFE being lived without question. Trepedation maybe, drinks definitely, action of course.

A week in PDX

2011-08-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

I can safely say (now that I am back home in Long Beach) that this past week spent in Portland and Dayton Oregon has been one of the best of my life. My friends Asik & Charlie got married in a gorgeous ceremony in the middle of the countryside on the grounds of Charlie's parents' flower farm with a collection of fun, funny and fiercely loyal friends and family in attendance. I felt so blessed to be asked to participate as a bridesmaid not only for the chance to stand up and bear witness to the love of two people I absolutely adore but also for a chance to spend time with my friends in one of the most wonderful cities on the planet.

I love Portland. I have loved Portland without ever going there and I love Portland now having gone a few times and always under circumstances filled with love and friendship.

I am particularly in gratitude to my friend Kellie and her housemates whom I now consider friends, for letting me stay in their magical house filled with incredible art and fabulous clothes...dogs, mid-century modern furniture, interesting people coming in and out constantly...heaven on earth. It was edifying to spend time with a group of individuals who are struggling to make art and themselves strong, unique and beautiful, sometimes out of lives rooted in trauma.

Kellie, someone I consider to be the living manifestation of what I like to refer to as "a quiet riot" sort of sways through this environment with an air of delight mixed with calm indifference. She clearly enjoys where she lives and it was a pleasure to witness first hand why she does. The head of this household is Wynde Dyer an honest and wildly energetic woman who is the creator of a project called Golden Rule which at one point took the form of retail shop and experimental art gallery, located on E. Burnside, revolving around a core inventory of her late mother's massive vintage clothing collection.

The concept was to present a curated environment of art, clothes, furniture and assorted curiosities that would change from month to month. What made the project particularly fascinating to me was that these exhibitions were not dictated or controlled by Wynde entirely but by guest curators and consignors that contributed to the look and assisted in the growing community around Golden Rule. Unfortunately the mixture of too many consignors/contributors and not enough profit doomed the retail aspect of the project and the gallery was forced to close.

This beautiful and almost Utopian concept that came apart at the seams on it's first attempt lives on in Wynde's home which is currently bursting with treasures that were once inventory. Every corner is a world onto itself with art and artifacts of another time, prints and drawings from former exhibitions are stacked neatly in milk crates, colored paper flags clipped to twine are festively pinned under a screen-printed sign that reads "Work Hard & Be Nice to People."

The house itself seems to capture the presence of all the hard work and people who have been nice or have been treated nicely. It creates a powerful proof for the idea that we should all strive to treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated and to live with the idea that no matter what, the evidence of kindness will manifest itself in the form of a cosmic reward. Maybe not today, or tomorrow but without a doubt, someday.

happy birthday joy!

2011-08-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

My beautiful and talented friend Joy Shannon is blazing a trail of positive and creative energy that inspires everyone who has the great pleasure to know her. It is dizzying the amount of spiritual and creative growth she embodies with more and more strength with each year of her life.

It is on the occasion of her birthday that I am excited to write about the next step in our collaborative effort to bring her next album "Out of My Dreams and Into My Arms," into the world. A few days ago we launched a Kickstarter page in hopes that we can share the spirit of independent music production with fans and friends. There are great gifts being offered in thanks for your contributions! Take a look by clicking on the "current project" badge to your right ~ Your support of this project is so greatly appreciated.

Happy Birthday Joy!

bad 'beat' girls

2011-08-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

I am personally a huge fan of women behaving badly or at least I cannot fathom a world without the idea that we should be well behaved with the much frowned-upon option not to be.

energy at occca and santa ana artwalk

2011-08-07T14:08:00.001-07:00

Tesla's Coil Unraveling by Joella March

Statement by "Energy" Juror Howard N. Fox:  Energy is all.  According to the Book of Genesis, the creation began in a  burst of pure energy – light.  According to Einstein, energy is the  source of all matter, and convertible with it.  According to most  artists, creative energy – an inner force – is the motivation of their  lives.  In the studio artists transform creative energy into material  expression.  For this exhibition artists were encouraged to submit works  that celebrate the concept or force of energy in its broadest  connotations or in its most focused denotations.

In the grand scheme of "things are what you make of them" Joy, Will and I went down to the Santa Ana Artwalk with the idea that we were going to lift our collective spirits with art, food, wine and friends. Which, is exactly what we did.

Will has been out of town and I've been working non-stop to launch the second month of Colectiva, the gallery's summer group show, which is incredible and can be viewed online, so it was nice for us all to reconnect over a bottle of wine (espresso for Will, the dd). We were joined by artist and curator Joella March who created the piece at the top entitle "Tesla's Coil Unraveling." It is a visual deconstruction of Tesla's idealic vision of a renewable energy source. I just fell in love with the piece and I'm excited to say it was created by a dear friend so that when Will and I get a larger living space we can commission one just like it!

Artwalk in Santa Ana is always a great time. I hadn't been in a while so it was exciting to see food trucks, and live music and people spilling out of the Grand Central Art Building and all the surrounding restaurants. It is a relatively small area and centrally located so the atomosphere never gets diluted or split between one side of town or the other. The exhibit "Energy" at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art is a definite "go see."


Joy Shannon

the fairytales of alison scarpulia

2011-08-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

sarahdarling at bottega louie

2011-08-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

Honestly, sometimes I forget. We have traveled the world together. Gotten into major scraps. I've followed her into most of the interesting situations we have been in together hissing "Sarah we are NOT supposed to be here!"

I love my sister so much.

We drove into downtown last night for dinner & macaroons at Bottega Louie's. Afterwards we went up to Seven Grand across the street for some music and smoking on the side patio. The atmosphere was absolutely perfect. Young Frankenstein was playing on the tv and the band was really great. It was a good night.

thing I

thing II

thing I & II making mud pies

the horse latitudes

2011-08-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

the horse latitudes, prelim sketches

for the upcoming Joy Shannon album, OUT OF MY DREAMS AND INTO MY ARMS

star code

2011-07-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

... .- .. .-.. --- .-. ... / ..-. .. --. .... - .. -. --. / .. -. / - .... . / -.. .- -. -.-. . / .... .- .-.. .-.. / --- .... / -- .- -. ? / .-.. --- --- -.- / .- - / - .... --- ... . / -.-. .- ...- . -- . -. / --. --- / .. - .----. ... / - .... . / ..-. .-. . .- -.- .. . ... - / ... .... --- .-- / - .- -.- . / .- / .-.. --- --- -.- / .- - / - .... . / .-.. .- .-- -- .- -. / -... . .- - .. -. --. / ..- .--. / - .... . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / --. ..- -.-- / --- .... / -- .- -. ? / .-- --- -. -.. . .-. / .. ..-. / .... . .----. .-.. .-.. / . ...- . .-. / -.- -. --- .-- / .... . .----. ... / .. -. / - .... . / -... . ... - / ... . .-.. .-.. .. -. --. / ... .... --- .-- / .. ... / - .... . .-. . / .-.. .. ..-. . / --- -. / -- .- .-. ... ..--..

A friend recently asked why I use Morse Code in my artwork, on my website, in text messages, everywhere. I actually had to think about it. Morse Code has always been there...I like how it looks and I like how it sounds. It took a bit to remember that there was a particular source from which my knowledge of code stems.

The Star Code, General Electric Walkie-Talkie.

Growing up my best friend was a boy who lived down the street named Scottie. When I started school there was Calib a boy who lived a few blocks away, then Eric. This question of Morse Code got me thinking about my childhood friends and more specifically, why the vast majority of them have been boys.

My mom was obsessed with the fact that toys manufactured for American girls bred early on, a sense of low self worth, confusion, impracticality and a general love for her most despised color, pink. Every toy my sister and I had served a purpose. If it wasn't a building block or art supply it was a vehicle or communication device. It was completely natural then that I would gravitate towards the neighborhood boys as playmates. It seems that the "action" element was something generally lacking in girl's activites.

Scottie had loads of Fireman and Police memorabilia (which I didn't have), a dog (which I didn't have) and a set of walkie talkies that would be the source for my sense of whimsy, suburban espionage and above all visual and auditory communication. Then Calib had everything even remotely relating to Masters of Universe and a really sweet bike. :)

So if our childhood toys shape our aesthetic as adults (which I personally feel that they do) then who I am today has been greatly influenced by the company I kept then, which is a really nice thought.

plastic nostalgia: raw edges design studio

2011-07-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Raw Edges are inspired by the specific design language of Fisher Price Toys from the 1970's. Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay have chosen one of the ultimate symbols of high quality, brightly coloured, highly finished plastic, which during theirs and many childhoods typified homes across the world. Fisher Price toys with their plastic properties of durability and myriad shape and colour possibilities were seen on every nursery floor, a positive symbol of a plastic manufacturing age.

Raw Edge Design Studio

Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay make up Raw Edges Design Studio and I discovered their amazing work while doing a little nolstalgic research of my own into Fisher Price toys. What I enjoy the most about this series in particular (although all their work is amazing) is the pre-industrial craftsmanship expressing mass-production whimsy, reworked to be functional in an adult capacity. It is very inspirational in planning out what I want in the home I am pulling together with my boyfriend.

Here is my secret: I want to surprise him by building a small collection of different phonographs and tape playing devices designed originally for kids. Our apartment, while very beautiful, is lacking a certain warmth. There is a lot of hard wood and furniture made up of a collection of 90 degree angles. It was my taste when I was living alone, sharp angles, boxy leather, and glass but lately I've been wanting to lounge around like a cat on big soft things and look up at bright bursts of color. We are both very silly around each other and I see no reason why our apartment shouldn't be equally so. In addition to finding audiotoys I am on the lookout for the perfect lounging and listening to records carpet and GIANT floor pillows. Lighting is important too. I'm thinking one of those projector universe machines should do the trick.

vintage wallpapers from Retro Villa

maurizio anzeri & karel teige

2011-07-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

maurizio anzeri

two words: vortex menagerie

i have been writing through the foundation of my next series of work, seeking inspiration in part from czech collage artist karel teige and the newly discovered (to me) contemporary artist maurizio anzeri. i am facinated by the concept of collage, collaboration and cohabitation. the splicing of images and minds and people together. i believe understanding and communication to be a collage of perspectives and two people choosing to share a life together as a life-long creative collaboration.

karel teige

burden of dreams

2011-07-04T00:37:00.000-07:00

klaus kinski as Fitzcarraldo

imagine if someone did this with the 90's

2011-07-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

aaron bruno

I am not entirely sure how "everything cool in the universe" got away with not becoming a trademark aesthetic until now. Maybe because it was formally known as "the 70's." Maybe. Personally, I would like to think that there existed for a short time a silent code amongst designers and artists that the 70's were just one decade in which humanity got it right so maybe we should spread it out, use just a little at a time. Much like petroleum, there is no way dinosaurs are coming back and dying all over again so that our greatgreatgrandchildren can ironically drive a fully restored Hummer. So please, use tailored suits if you have to, but don't add outer space. Avoid combining together anything that was considered cool in the 70's from other decades like diving gear or mermaids or sailing ships with suits and outer space. If you put it all in an amber-tinted print campaign, you've gone into the red. Don't get me wrong. Use some, a few, a little but certainly not ALL of it TOGETHER. To combine these things means that you possess power beyond your ability to properly wield and while it will look super cool and everyone will love it, it won't last.

And once it's gone, it's gone forever.

Okay fine, but don't expect me to dance.
Okay, I'll dance but don't expect me to like it...

(typewriter abuse!)

jean shrimpton by cecil beaton, 1964

2011-06-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

muse

2011-06-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

common sense vaykay

2011-06-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Telling yourself that you adhere to the laws of "truth" or as I refer to it "the laws of the universe" entail that you keep a finger on the pulse of common sense, (which I frequently loose touch with). As a result I deal with moments of catch-up where I need to whittle away at what can only be described as new media ego inflation. I do this by getting off the internet for a week and concentrating on drawing/working.

My new panels which are primed and ready to go, will again be inspired in part by the music of my good friend Joy Shannon. Her new song (yet to be released) entitled "The Horse Latitudes" is a striking departure from her softer more introspective work. What I am hearing is a voice of startling strength and clarity, singing into an uncharted future. On hearing it I was immediately inspired to continue our collaborative partnership which started with the Predator Instinct EP. There are plans in the works for cover art to come out of this new series of work and more...including a music video project with friends in Austin Texas. I'm pretty excited about the creative potential of this summer.

Michael Eastman

A small note on what the horse latitudes actually are, because it is very interesting: In a time when horses were integral to human industry, many were transported to new colonies aboard sailing ships. The "horse latitudes" are subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees running both north and south that when occurring over the ocean create areas of little to no wind. If a ship got lost in these areas, water shortages would force the reality of lightening the load and thirst on board and the horses would be let go into the open sea. It is a horrible fact that I feel speaks to our long history of attempting at human convenience and meeting somewhere in the middle, sometimes in a place with no wind, where we are forced to "make it work" by any means necessary.

Our relationship with animals has always been heavily rested on our desire for convenience and it costs exactly as much as that animal is worth, however much we decide that is. I feel that Joy (who is a vegetarian and animal rights activist) has created a song that approaches ideas behind letting go, lightening up and sailing strong into the future. I commend her for choosing a metaphor so wrought with intense imagery. I'm excited to use it also as something hopeful as well as delving into the anatomy of horses which are so so difficult to draw (as are most intensely beautiful things).

And on that note, I'm turning my computer off for a bit. xoxo

culver city could use some space

2011-06-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

100% perfect girl by haruki murakami

2011-06-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

photo by ellen von unwerth

One beautiful April morning, on a narrow side street in Tokyo's fashionable Harujuku neighborhood, I walked past the 100% perfect girl.

Tell you the truth, she's not that good-looking. She doesn't stand out in any way. Her clothes are nothing special. The back of her hair is still bent out of shape from sleep. She isn't young, either - must be near thirty, not even close to a "girl," properly speaking. But still, I know from fifty yards away: She's the 100% perfect girl for me. The moment I see her, there's a rumbling in my chest, and my mouth is as dry as a desert.

Maybe you have your own particular favorite type of girl - one with slim ankles, say, or big eyes, or graceful fingers, or you're drawn for no good reason to girls who take their time with every meal. I have my own preferences, of course. Sometimes in a restaurant I'll catch myself staring at the girl at the next table to mine because I like the shape of her nose.

But no one can insist that his 100% perfect girl correspond to some preconceived type. Much as I like noses, I can't recall the shape of hers - or even if she had one. All I can remember for sure is that she was no great beauty. It's weird.

"Yesterday on the street I passed the 100% girl," I tell someone.

"Yeah?" he says. "Good-looking?"

"Not really."

"Your favorite type, then?"

"I don't know. I can't seem to remember anything about her - the shape of her eyes or the size of her breasts."

"Strange."

"Yeah. Strange."

"So anyhow," he says, already bored, "what did you do? Talk to her? Follow her?"

"Nah. Just passed her on the street."

She's walking east to west, and I west to east. It's a really nice April morning.

Wish I could talk to her. Half an hour would be plenty: just ask her about herself, tell her about myself, and - what I'd really like to do - explain to her the complexities of fate that have led to our passing each other on a side street in Harajuku on a beautiful April morning in 1981. This was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets, like an antique clock build when peace filled the world.

After talking, we'd have lunch somewhere, maybe see a Woody Allen movie, stop by a hotel bar for cocktails. With any kind of luck, we might end up in bed.

Potentiality knocks on the door of my heart.

Now the distance between us has narrowed to fifteen yards.

How can I approach her? What should I say?

"Good morning, miss. Do you think you could spare half an hour for a little conversation?"

Ridiculous. I'd sound like an insurance salesman.

"Pardon me, but would you happen to know if there is an all-night cleaners in the neighborhood?"

No, this is just as ridiculous. I'm not carrying any laundry, for one thing. Who's going to buy a line like that?

Maybe the simple truth would do. "Good morning. You are the 100% perfect girl for me."

No, she wouldn't believe it. Or even if she did, she might not want to talk to me. Sorry, she could say, I might be the 100% perfect girl for you, but you're not the 100% boy for me. It could happen. And if I found myself in that situation, I'd probably go to pieces. I'd never recover from the shock. I'm thirty-two, and that's what growing older is all about.

We pass in front of a flower shop. A small, warm air mass touches my skin. The asphalt is damp, and I catch the scent of roses. I can't bring myself to speak to her. She wears a white sweater, and in her right hand she holds a crisp white envelope lacking only a stamp. So: She's written somebody a letter, maybe spent the whole night writing, to judge from the sleepy look in her eyes. The envelope could contain every secret she's ever had.

I take a few more strides and turn: She's lost in the crowd.

Now, of course, I know exactly what I should have said to her. It would have been a long speech, though, far too long for me to have delivered it properly. The ideas I come up with are never very practical.

Oh, well. It would have started "Once upon a time" and ended "A sad story, don't you think?"

Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl. The boy was eighteen and the girl sixteen. He was not unusually handsome, and she was not especially beautiful. They were just an ordinary lonely boy and an ordinary lonely girl, like all the others. But they believed with their whole hearts that somewhere in the world there lived the 100% perfect boy and the 100% perfect girl for them. Yes, they believed in a miracle. And that miracle actually happened.

One day the two came upon each other on the corner of a street.

"This is amazing," he said. "I've been looking for you all my life. You may not believe this, but you're the 100% perfect girl for me."

"And you," she said to him, "are the 100% perfect boy for me, exactly as I'd pictured you in every detail. It's like a dream."

They sat on a park bench, held hands, and told each other their stories hour after hour. They were not lonely anymore. They had found and been found by their 100% perfect other. What a wonderful thing it is to find and be found by your 100% perfect other. It's a miracle, a cosmic miracle.

As they sat and talked, however, a tiny, tiny sliver of doubt took root in their hearts: Was it really all right for one's dreams to come true so easily?

And so, when there came a momentary lull in their conversation, the boy said to the girl, "Let's test ourselves - just once. If we really are each other's 100% perfect lovers, then sometime, somewhere, we will meet again without fail. And when that happens, and we know that we are the 100% perfect ones, we'll marry then and there. What do you think?"

"Yes," she said, "that is exactly what we should do."

And so they parted, she to the east, and he to the west.

The test they had agreed upon, however, was utterly unnecessary. They should never have undertaken it, because they really and truly were each other's 100% perfect lovers, and it was a miracle that they had ever met. But it was impossible for them to know this, young as they were. The cold, indifferent waves of fate proceeded to toss them unmercifully.

One winter, both the boy and the girl came down with the season's terrible inluenza, and after drifting for weeks between life and death they lost all memory of their earlier years. When they awoke, their heads were as empty as the young D. H. Lawrence's piggy bank.

They were two bright, determined young people, however, and through their unremitting efforts they were able to acquire once again the knowledge and feeling that qualified them to return as full-fledged members of society. Heaven be praised, they became truly upstanding citizens who knew how to transfer from one subway line to another, who were fully capable of sending a special-delivery letter at the post office. Indeed, they even experienced love again, sometimes as much as 75% or even 85% love.

Time passed with shocking swiftness, and soon the boy was thirty-two, the girl thirty.

One beautiful April morning, in search of a cup of coffee to start the day, the boy was walking from west to east, while the girl, intending to send a special-delivery letter, was walking from east to west, but along the same narrow street in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. They passed each other in the very center of the street. The faintest gleam of their lost memories glimmered for the briefest moment in their hearts. Each felt a rumbling in their chest. And they knew:

She is the 100% perfect girl for me.

He is the 100% perfect boy for me.

But the glow of their memories was far too weak, and their thoughts no longer had the clarity of fourteen years earlier. Without a word, they passed each other, disappearing into the crowd. Forever.

A sad story, don't you think?

Yes, that's it, that is what I should have said to her.

holding on to black metal

2011-06-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

John Scarsbrick

Black metal lead to and your teenage pop
Look at you starchild you're all grown up

John Scarsbrick

an evening eichler watching

2011-06-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

image from the stahl (case study) house

For the second issue of Together Magazine, we are continuing to explore ideas surrounding suburban culture and urban decay, this time through a series of drawings, photographs and a special music video project surrounding the aesthetic of Joseph Eichler.

Eichler was an architect and developer that successfully created neighborhoods of modern housing in the 1950's most of which are still standing and inhabited in the same spirit in which they were designed. What makes an Eichler home unique beyond the widely utilized mid-century geometric post and beam design was the open floor plan of glass windows that came off of a centrally located indoor atrium. Skylights, indoor windows and pocket doors were used to duly create the illusion of and save space. From the outside the homes are concrete square block fortresses of gunmetal, black, orange and white, providing little clue to the airiness of the interior. On the flip side there is no hope of personal privacy within the home. Whatever is said on one side of the atrium can often times be seen and heard from the other side. Pretty powerful stuff when you consider that most ranch homes built in Southern California are designed, most likely accidentally, in the exact reverse.

clockwork orange

This past friday, I spent a good part of the evening driving around Eichler neighborhoods in the Orange County area, taking reference pictures, making little drawings and in a few cases causing some home owners to inquire after what it was that I was doing, which was embarrassing. Ever since the horror of walking door to door selling Girl Scout cookies, I always get a little bashful walking around residential neighborhoods obviously flagged as a non-resident.

I found myself wanting to erase any signs of contemporary life, primarily the cars, to completely the illusion that I had somehow stepped into a world set apart from time. The house below is my particular favorite:

I love this concrete firepit in the backyard of one Eichler Home (not my picture). That punch of red created by an IKEA bookshelf is amazing.

either/or

2011-05-30T00:59:00.000-07:00

Soren Kierkegaard

Christy Matson

anxiety is the dizziness of freedom

(kierkegaard)

Regine Olsen

my momma

2011-05-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I was cleaning out dad & joan's garage and I found a box labeled "suz please review" So I did. In it I found stacks of report cards and childhood drawings and also some old documents of my mom's: A passport, an envelope with 4 copies of the same b&w photo, some bank records and a journal. I couldn't stop looking at the pictures. I think I know everything about her. I mean, I should. But I clearly don't and never really will, which is absolutely true of all children and their parents.

Growing up in a multi-cultural family is difficult and somewhat confusing. There are a lot of beautiful moments that can get lost in one's struggle to fit in, especially in the 80's when children were simply adopting their parent's love of "stuff." There was no way in hell my mom was getting me LA Gears just because everyone else had them or letting me or my sister eat at McDonald's. Barbie dolls were so out of the question we took to walking veery sloowly down the bright pink aisle of any major convenience store just to get a momentary fix. Everything was a struggle for her and for us right down to the way she made our sandwiches. We were not to experience the American dream of segregating our Ritz crackers from our round deli meats in branded, over-packaged containers nor were we to understand why meals did not come with dessert.

What we did get was a sense that a world existed outside our immediate family. All people were different and there was no point in trying to pretend otherwise. My mother, who was born in Germany and lived for the first portion of her life in this country in Washington DC, clearly struggled to find her identity in suburban Southern California. As children my sister and I followed her on her journey every step of the way. If she still doesn't have a keen grasp on SoCal culture, neither do we. It's okay though. I would rather go back through my childhood and start to appreciate potato pancakes and polish handcrafts then try and figure out how to fit into a culture that is supposed to be based on freedom of expression anyway.

zen

2011-05-28T01:54:00.000-07:00

This is the most zen thing I have ever seen in my life. Spoiler alert: get your 25 bucks ready. It is worth the Ambient prescription replaced by playing this video nightly before bed.

my dad is awesome

2011-05-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

started the day talking with my dad about the sprinkler system which may or may not be working. the lawn is getting crispy and i don't know why, i've never had to take care of a lawn before. so i'm holding the phone to my head whilst i drive my poor father into greater and greater concern over the state of his lawn AND the IQ levels of his daughter. i'm pretty sure my dad was recalling every sprinkler system he has ever dealt with in his head while we were talking because there are dials with numbers on it and then there are dials with numbers on it and for some reason we couldn't get to the point where we were talking about the same thing.

the whole conversation made me miss him and appreciate some key things about my dad (and both my parents) that i don't get to think about very often.

my earliest childhood memories are of playing in a environment not unlike my own apartment. my parent's bed was in the living room because that was the largest room in the house. a brick fireplace served as the headboard and to the right was a build-in bookshelf packed with all kinds of books that spilled out onto the floor and across the mantel piece. everything i remember from that time was love and mixed polish textiles and odd pieces of wood furniture moving around on a brown brindled carpet. it was a stage set with the best intentions in a dramatic production of "young couple makes it up as they go along." i cannot believe i spent as many years as i have not understanding how difficult that must have been for them.

i love my dad. a lot. i know you're supposed to and all but i try and not take that kind of thing for granted. he's living in virginia now and i miss him. i actually talk with him a lot more than i ever did when he was living a half hour away but that's how it goes i guess. he's a pretty rad individual with a lot of knowledge on things i am finding myself more and more interested in as i get older: history, outer space, cars and architecture....um, pretty much everything. he's a walking encyclopedia with profound knowledge of human happenings from the civil war to whatever the hell is going on in the picture below.

originally designed during the cold war as a missile launching device...wtf?

2011-05-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

Unfortunate End (2 x7 in EP / CD / Digital ) which is officially out on 5/17 via Velvet Blue Music (http://www.velvetbluemusic.com/kissingcousins)

pippa williams

going back into the abandoned

oh wednesday

2011-05-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

click on all of them at once and you're getting close.

the fleet foxes cover: toby liebowitz

2011-05-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

If I know only one thing, it's that everything that I see

Of the world outside is so inconceivable often I barely can speak

Yeah I'm tongue-tied and dizzy and I can't keep it to myself

What good is it to sing helplessness blues, why should I wait for anyone else?

And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf

I'll come back to you someday soon myself

more of toby's work can be found on her beautiful website HERE

graphic design: super breakout

2011-05-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

Explore the whole collection, HERE

dream collection: rebecca campbell

2011-05-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

Last month Will and I ducked into LA Louver Gallery in Venice Beach and happily one of my favorite artists of all time, Rebecca Campbell was showing on the upper level.

The exhibition entitled "Romancing the Apocalypse" was comprised of several canvases of mushroom clouds, conveyed through beautiful strokes of bright blues, reds and yellows that gave off a tremendous amount of frustration. In one painting "Boom 3" the cloud looked like a clenched fist rising up in the air. I loved that she included several paintings of fireworks entitled "Bang 1 - 3" and incredible paintings of rainbows entitled "Bow" which I interpreted as a wink from God after the smoke clears.

What I would include in my dream collection would be one of her works entitled "Beauty" for the simple reason that I could see everything, the nuclear fallout, the celebration, the natural phenomenon all expressed through the faces of her women. It is in these paintings that her mark making becomes a dreamy departure from reality with a hint of that frustration that translates as something just slightly sinister.

Also on my mind:

If one were to consider painting as the conscious deconstruction of one individuals reality, done so through a unique visual language, then Campbell is the real deal. So many painters take up the "language" of another painter, either because they were taught that particular form of mark making by a professor in school or simply through good old fashion emulation. I don't think it is understood often times that the mark of the artist's hand is the foundation of viewing a work of contemporary painting. If you copy another artist's stroke, it is not of course the end of the world. There is after all color, content and composition but there will always be something disingenuous about the work which, to me, begs the question of why go through the effort.

I think about these things when I see amazing paintings in person. You get up close and marvel at the problem solving, the ingenuity.

Rebecca Campbell, Boom 1, 2010
Oil on canvas , 20 x 12 in.

Rebecca Campbell, Epidemic, 2011
oil on canvas
84 x 60 inches

PODCAST BETWEEN THE ARTIST AND CRITIC PETER CLOTHIER ON ARTSCENE VISUAL RADIO

Rebecca Campbell, Meshes, 2009

oil on canvas, 18 x 18 inches

Note: This painting wasn't in the exhibition, I fell in love with it off her website HERE

more of Rebecca's work can be found at lalouver.com

are you free or are you tied up

2011-05-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Peter Bjorn and John remix of Miike Snow's Animal

The search is on for a warehouse space in Long Beach to become home base for reBicycleLB, a custom shop specializing in the refurbishing of bicycles with unique paint jobs by amazing artists, bags, bars, rims and cranks all lovingly brought back to life, scavenged from an array of sources all with artisan improvements. I've been researching and experimenting with acid etching, powder coat removal and a bunch of other hazardous and highly caustic processes (yummy) to find new ways of making things look "pretty." I am the most excited about the recycling element. I cannot stand mass production, even the mass production of my most favorite things.

Like most of my projects there will be a artistic and collaborative element and I hope to tie in everything that has been happening with Ashes In Orange Peels. Really I just want a secret hideout filled with bikes and art and the means to create and exhibit both.

Website coming soon but just in case you're hooked on placer sites, this is what we've got so far.
rebicyclelb.com

a boxcar in the woods

2011-04-28T02:26:00.000-07:00

I post a lot about prefab architecture on here. My father and uncle are both architects and while I grew up with a profound love of the complexities of interior/exterior spacial design, I am equally drawn to the factory-made box. I trace my fascination back to one source: The Boxcar Children.

Not to take it there but our economy is tanking and I don't really see it righting itself, although I am far from an expert on economic trends. Somehow the whole state of affairs is okay because I can still remember the thrill of making do alongside four orphans in an abandoned box car with a broken milk jug, a few plates and the quest for a piece of bread.

When I grow up, I want two main rooms. One for books and records and another for a bed. Simple and beautiful.

tonight: joy shannon & the beauty marks joined by will morrison

2011-04-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

RSVP on the facebook event page

Together Magazine is a project that involves the creative talents of many people. Come celebrate the launch of the first issue featuring stunning works of photography by Harmony Gerber, Xun Chi, illustrations and photo collages by Ashes In Orange Peels, and "page installations" by Michelle Wiener, David Wilkie, Laurie Hassold, Sarah Walsh and Canadian artist Mikolaj Smolinski.

Each issue comes with a companion album recorded specifically at AIOP recordings. In this issue, hom[ep]rairie, a hauntingly beautiful collection of songs inspired by the experience of growing up in Southern California. Featuring the amazing song writing of Joy Shannon, joined by Hollywood-folk artist Will Morrison and Mark Sheppard from the UK band, The Offering.

Both Joy Shannon and Will Morrison will be performing tonight.

{{{Plus Southern Red Velvet cake, a selection of IPA's and an Italian Soda bar}}}

the vacuum bell: without you

2011-04-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

Will's new song entitled "Without You." The songwriting is so thoughtful and creative.

If you want to see this gentleman perform live, join us at {open} in Long Beach this saturday from 7 to 9. Joining him will be Joy Shannon and her Beauty Marks as they play songs from their recent EP out on AIOP recordings. You can preview two of the songs off the AIOP recordings site on bandcamp.com.

We are also launching Together, an arts and culture zine to be published twice a year.

I am also turning 30 and we're having some cake about it. (smile)

fail blog

2011-04-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes that's right, my work is on a stranger's forearm forever as well as featured amongst other epic do overs like Charlie Sheen's head on the body of a tiger (I'm serious, it exists and is documented on ugliesttattoos.com). I have to admit I'm pretty excited about it. It also goes to show that one person's fail is another person's....good idea? I don't know. I went to bed a 4:30 last night finishing up "Together Magazine." I cannot actually complete a full sentence in my head or otherwise.

On a related note, I have never received so many complimentary comments on my work in one place before!

m theory at the orange county museum of art

2011-04-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

our earth is located somewhere on the orange shape right in calder's line of sight

For a physics AND arts geek, last night at the Orange County Museum of Art was pretty fun. I shot a gin martini and just let my brain go bananas. My good friend Carla (owner of saltfineart) and I walked the exhibit just smiling and laughing the whole time. It was awesome.

What gets me about Calder's mobiles are how they rest so delicately on the edge of gravity almost seeming to defy it. This pull that keeps our feet on the ground is in itself a very fragile force and I just love the way he was able to somehow convey that fragility by using wire and reclaimed bits of metal. His 2-dimensional shapes strung together in space create something multi-dimensional in the same way physicists are trying to connect the laws of the universe together into one defining theory which at times after much calculation actually look a lot like something Calder would come up with. And he was pretty much just winging it! So amazing.

Plus it's just sooo mid-century. Which is the super highway to my heart.

The curator also included work from 8 up and coming artists that work in a similar vein to Calder. In my opinion the work supported the headliner's genius but far from challenged it. Still, they served as whimsical additions. I particularly loved the work of Jason Middlebrook whose work, although not at all visual complex had an truth to it in the seemingly uncultivated materials of wood, spray paint and weighted plastic bottles. It was this "almost" accidental profundity in Middlebrook's work that I saw as being the most aligned with Calder's.

Jason Middlebrook Painted Plank and Cast Concrete Detergent Bottle, 2008

After the exhibit we went to dinner and continued to banter about all the wonderful stuff that makes up the our tiny universe including easy gossip - lest we get too lofty.

The show runs through September 4th. More information on OCMA's website here

together magazine, page 24

2011-04-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

so we're working away on the final layout of "together" magazine. this project has changed course at least twice since its inception and with every directional shift i feel more and more in tune with the final product. all in all i hope it successfully relays the idea that life is best shared. we humans do a lot of wacky things to isolate ourselves behind all sorts of "electric fences." i'm sitting in front of one right now, typing away when i should be sleeping. le sigh. jaw dropping work is going into the maiden issue and like most maidens, there are some major issues getting worked out. plus my average bedtime has been pushed to 3 a.m. which has got to change once this hits the printers. i can't keep this going...i'm turning 30 this month! 30 is the year you find a good facial moisturizer and start going to bed at 1 am by the latest. right?

(goodnight)

bone theater: laurie hassold

2011-04-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

{recent quote from Laurie Hassold from an interview by Matt Gleason}

I am definitely inspired by the natural world, as well as science fiction. It seems to me that most alien life forms imagined by human minds in literature and cinema are not really invented, so much as derived from the endless variety and mind boggling permutations found in plants, animals and insects already existing on our planet. The Alien monster obviously relies on the strange anatomy and reproductive processes of insects. The stunning beauty and horror that co-exists in even the smallest of non-human creatures, as well as the elaborate mechanisms and rituals they use for attracting prey and mates, fascinates me. We humans are utterly boring by comparison. I guess at my core I'm a romantic nihilist -- I enjoy pondering a future where the fate of all human achievement is reduced to a dirty pink layer of sediment in the vast geological clock. On one level, my work is about a post-human extinction earth, and the sort of life that gets to thrive at the top of the food chain after we bow out.

read the rest of the interview here

It is amazing to watch an artist work, to realize that no matter what level of chaos they set into motion during the creative process, their vision remains consistent. In this way you will always be able to recognize the work of a great artist no matter how far they stray into experimentation. Laurie Hassold is a great artist.

Recently she asked me to be her model for a video project and live theater event during her residency at the Huntington Beach Fine Arts Center. I was excited to participate in any way knowing that whatever Laurie asked me to do (and in this case it was show up in a black leotard and tights) the result would be right in line with the incredible work she does. And it was...

the bone cave watches the first edits

donald e. davis: the stanford torus

2011-04-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

I believe in embracing things that scare you. Practical philosophy primarily because if I were to stop and think about what makes my heart race, everything does. I would not have hopped on a bike and sped through traffic to deliver legal documents at the age of 18. When eventually I got "doored" and tossed into traffic, I never would have gotten on a bike again (and I didn't for years) until I just missed biking so much that I stopped thinking about it. Nothing makes me flip out so much as outer space though. Ever since I was a kid the thought of the infinite blackness that hangs above our heads would send me screaming to my dad for a lengthily explanation on the various ways to comprehend how very insignificant the Earth is. My dad actually worked for JPL/NASA at the time so he would take my sister and I to family days and "bring your daughter to work" days where we got to explore the huge campus filled with clean-rooms and moon surface testing complexes, etc. I stuck glow in the dark stars on my ceiling and paged through Hubble photographs of star nebula, played "flying cars" with my neighborhood friends and waited till I would get the chance to truly face my fear when I was one of the "artists" that got asked to inhabit the earth torus. I had some very lofty ideas for myself...

The artist who painted these renditions of the Stanford Torus in action is Donald E. Davis, a space painter and animator. You can find more of his work HERE and HERE

new project: hom[ep]rairie and ashes in orange peels magazine

2011-03-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

last night was the opening of my latest work at {open} in long beach - and it was great. i love this venue and have for years so the whole night just felt like i was hanging out and catching up with friends. will morrison played an amazing, heartfelt set much of which was new material and at one point was even joined by joy shannon for a song - which was very very cute. se and shea, the owners of {open} were their usual gracious energetic selves, everything went off without a hitch. it didn't even rain!

next will be the event on the 23rd when i release ashes in orange peels magazine along with the hom[ep]rairie EP.

ashes in orange peels magazine is a semi-annual book that i hope will represent the feeling of creative collaboration. it is not just a blanket survey of art/fashion/writing but a celebration of my friends and our desire to work together in order to make beautiful things.

joy shannon by xun chi

amongst the contributors/collaborators so far are the laguna beach based photographer Xun Chi, Will Morrison and Joy Shannon who have lent their amazing talents to the companion EP and Mark Sheppard from Oxford, UK who not only mixed and mastered the project but composed much of the music that bridges Joy's creations with Will's.

i have thrown two tracks up on bandcamp as a preview to the EP and i will of course continue to update with images and such as we scramble with delight to get this thing finished.

opening tonight!

2011-03-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

tonight at {open} in long beach from 7 - 9 pm

more information here

quick snap with my phone of the finished TOGETHER (HUTCH)

[preview]

love and work

2011-03-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

Give me love and work, these two only.
- William Morris

accidental screen shot of me working... (mr. bike in the background)

predator instinct: exhibition card

2011-03-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

predator instinct: something like intent

2011-03-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

As an artist, I am obsessed with contradictions stemming from a childhood between Europe and the East Coast and a suburban life in Orange County, California. First to Geneva, then Prague where we stayed in a small apartment (within what used to be my grandfather's family home before Communism), and then back to backyard camping with the girl scout troop in a sea of pink homes that all looked the same. Always trying to integrate, always trying to fit in and feeling much like a hybrid of several different and often times opposing cultures and environments, my ability to draw became the great bonding agent with which I could communicate in all areas of my life.

The series Predator Instinct deals directly with identity confusion. Growing up in Southern California we are, almost to a one, products of parents who at some point were chasing or actively living a dream life. Whether they achieved what they had hoped for or not, the erratic nature of dream chasing is what we are accustomed to and therefore attempt to seek out ourselves, with mixed results. The animals in these works are all hybrids from common animals found on all continents. wolf/coyote/fox, deer/rabbit/mouse. The environments are multi-layered with full desert scenes existing beneath blankets of fur-like snow. My hope was to convey a highly aesthetic truth as to how it really feels to grow up here, each painting a knowing wink to the joy and the panic of being both predator and prey in one.

As an added bonus. my friend Joy Shannon, herself an Irish/SoCal hybrid, offered to compose a series of music inspired by the themes behind my work. She asked fellow musicians Will Morrison, Sean Wallace and Mark Sheppard to join her and the result is a deeply lyrical and witty series of songs that are as harmonious as they are strangely schizophrenic. I was so moved by the collaboration, that I decided to produce the record now entitled hom[ep]rairie. It will be available on itunes on April 23th as well as included as a download in the first ever issue of Ashes In Orange Peels magazine, also set to release on the 23th.

opening reception will be held on Saturday, March 26th from 7 - 9 pm at

{open}

(562) 499-OPEN | 2226 E. 4th St. | Long Beach CA, 90814 (map) | thestoryofopen.com

predator instinct

2011-03-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

More from the studio last night - attempting to get as much work done before I pack up and move (for some reason life tends to happen all at once and continuously so). Joy Shannon and Will Morrison keep sending me the most brilliant music I have ever heard for what is officially being called hom[ep]rairie. Magazine is nearly there. I have big black x's in the layout where my paintings are going to go. I just need to finish them...

condensed milk

2011-03-04T15:17:00.000-08:00

A little story about love.

So I text him last night: Can't sleep :/

He calls immediatly and (unprompted) starts reading from Winnie the Pooh. I am drifting off in a matter of minutes but at the same time giggling because he's doing all the voices. It was amazing...

That is all for now.

amazing brians and amazing brains

2011-03-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

i am deep in a collaborative project entitled "Predator Instinct" with friends Joy Shannon, Will Morrison and Mark Sheppard, recently adding the photographer Xun Chi. it started with Joy offering to pen some lyrics inspired by a series of paintings i have been working on for forever and three days. i was having problems finding inspiration and it was a welcome boost to have her interest. she sent me a nearly completed song a day later which blew my mind. suddenly we have an EP in the works and my long awaited dream of turning AIOP into an artist collective/label has begun.

none of us are sleeping i have a feeling but it is a beautiful kind of exhaustion as one song reaches completion and another gets produced...i am running a line between my computer and my easel and somehow we're creating something together in the most seamless and beautiful way. i cannot wait to share the final product.

side note: funny, somehow i figured when i got around to producing a record i would probably drop brian eno's name 1000 times, and it's true. i discovered eno too early maybe. he influences everything i do, from the music i like to the books i read. his lyrics reference a long history of intelligent absurdity or, as i like to call it, chaos by design, which is hard to walk away from once you've found it.

a classic example:

the writing of brian o'nolan came into my life as i was trying to figure out what eno is saying in the back of "Here Come the Warm Jets." o'nolan lived from 1911 to 1966 and contributed an endless stream of wit and social commentary in the form of three notable works, At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman, An Béal Bocht as well as a newspaper column, Cruiskeen Lawn.

i highly recommend.

goodnight dune

2011-03-02T21:58:00.000-08:00

Illustrations by Julia Yu, full book HERE

inspiration over focus

2011-02-27T00:49:00.000-08:00

i keep returning to this "don't tread on me" flag that hangs from the rafters of my family's cabin on birch island, maine. with a small amount of research i came across benjamin franklin's cartoon "join or die" which was originally created in response to the french and indian war with british colonials and was re-purposed (without his consent) as a call to arms during the first stages of the american revolution.

the image is very striking and i want to use it somehow...

now suddenly i'm on a huge early america kick on top of being covered in a rainbow of oil paint...

stop internet romance

2011-02-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

an amazing collaboration between photographer Alexander Martinez aka A. MART and LULINTERNET

more here

and while on the subject of "more awesome than your brain can handle" grab five dollars, HAMBURGER EYES is 10!

the arcade fire

2011-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

(this video blew my mind)

okay valentine

2011-02-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

photo: taken from Absolutely Kosher Records site, HERE

Marty Anderson is more than Okay, the (sort of) one man band that he produces from his home in Northern California.

If Sparkle Horse and Elliot Smith could be smashed together with all the whimsy of the first and none of the despair of the second you would get something close to what this man is doing, along with friends/band members, Ian Pelucci, bassist, brother Jay Pelucci, drummer, Yosef Lewis, guitarist, Anna Weisman, auto harp, Amanda Panda, percussionist. Tethered to an IV for 16 hours a day to keep a very rare intestinal disorder at bay, Anderson's song writing conveys his pain unapologetically and without a hint of self-pity. He is pushing a kind of honest spectrum of frailty and strength that is so apparent in his music that it makes you stop and listen, from beginning to end without really knowing why at first.

Hear the music on Okay's myspace HERE

Represented by Absolutely Kosher Records

Note: I have no idea if any of the information about Anderson's medical condition or the current band members of Okay are current. There is very little about him on the web and almost nothing past 2008. Regardless, his record label has some great things to say about his music and ways to hear MP3's and purchase his albums (CD only). I personally have Huggable Dust coming in the mail...

michael casker: pet cloud

2011-02-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

more of michael's work HERE

art avalanche!

2011-02-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

detail from my recently completed painting, Predator Instinct

The first months of 2011 have been a daze. Blame it on the congestion/phenomena/flu combo that had me sniffling then coughing then vomiting my way through more amazing art/events than I could possibly take in all at once - the GHOST show opened at the Box Gallery, two days later saltfineart went to the LA Art Show and during that week I somehow managed to make it to the Santa Monica launch of ISM's Polaroid book "Still Developing" after a day of artspeaking and standing in heals. Then the launch of Joy Shannon's album The Black Madonna (a video of the event is in the works). Let's see what else...lot's of shopping (books at skylight), clubbing (downtown speakeasies) and recouping in the am at Bottega Louie. All in all an amazing time.

Back in Laguna, saltfineart recuperated and rehung the Andriy Halashyn and Luis Cornejo show and I finally started in on my latest series of work to be shown at {Open} in Long Beach starting March 26th.

Now that I'm feeling human again, I'm allowing myself to process slowly and over the next few weeks I'll be posting images from LAAS, the GHOST reception and the development of this new body of work that is taking up all my time. All this and more projects on the horizon including a collaboration album with two incredible musicians. Details as things progress. I'm excited about everything!

polaroids of sarah creating a piece that is currently up at the box gallery in costa mesa

Andrew Hem mural at the 16th Annual Los Angeles Art Show, last month

andriy halashyn and luis cornejo at saltfineart

2011-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

I do not often mention saltfineart, the gallery I direct for a living, although I should. Every month I get to writing about, design advertisements and hang exhibitions of incredible Latin Contemporary Art. So much so that I forget to mention it in the context of my life as a whole.

So many good things have come from my experience working for salt. The first and foremost being that I get to work for one of my best friends, Carla Arzente Tesak, which is a blessing that I never loose sight of. The second is the artwork and the artists we represent. Although I was a huge fan of Latin American art and a frequent visitor to MOLAA in Long Beach before I met Carla, I have learned more than I could have ever imagined about the cultures, politics and immense voice of reason, humor and groundbreaking creativity that comes from this Southern continent.

A visit to the gallery is a must (as is the case with all galleries). We are open 7 days a week from 11 to 6. Up for the remainder of the month are two artists that we are on the verge of selling out of Andriy Halashyn and Luis Cornejo. Visit us soon before this show gets broken up too badly (it's looking like a group show in here with all the blank spaces we have to replace!)

Andriy Halashyn BE RELAXED 59 x 59 inches oil on canvas

In the last year alone, Andriy Halashyn he has exhibited at the Los Angeles Art Show, Arte Americas (Miami), Red Dot Art Fair (Miami), Arteahora Art Fair (Chicago) and the Hot Art Fair (Switzerland). Ukrainian born, but living and working in Costa Rica for the past 10 years Halashyn brings a cosmopolitan touch to his lushly dystopian paintings. In addition to winning awards in the Ukraine and Costa Rica, Halashyn has had numerous solo and collective exhibitions around the world in Los Angeles, Miami, Switzerland, the Ukraine, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama.

Andriy Halashyn RED TREE BABY 40 x 30 inches oil on canvas

Luis Cornejo UNTITLED 66 x 47 inches oil and acrylic on canvas

With sold out shows in 2007, 2008 and 2010, Cornejo’s ability to masterfully combine acrylic and oil to fuse hyper realism with a highly stylized, flat 2-dimensional style has been duly noted. Cornejo has exhibited individually and collectively in Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Canada and Germany. Cornejo’s career has skyrocketed in recent years, with a one year paid scholarship to Berlin (2009-10), top awards from the Museum of Art , MARTE in 2008 a well as the National Art Awards in 2003 and 2001.

Luis Cornejo UNTITLED 59 x 47 inches oil and acrylic on canvas

For more information contact saltfineart at 949.715.5554 or write me HERE

mister freedom

2011-02-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love most about Los Angeles is how damn coy she is as a city. She sets off powder kegs of meaningless pulp as a defensive diversion, a way to protect her stubborn and slyly sensual heart. Those who mean to pay tribute to the true Los Angeles speak to her in a language of backroom bars, crumbling art deco facades and a nonexclusive glamor.

Take for instance Mister Freedom, a non-assuming brick building located at 7161 Beverly Boulevard in Hollywood filled with a massive collection of vintage treasures including (are you ready for this?) Depression era work-wear - Tropical colonial garb - Outdoor canvas gear - Naval and Marine uniforms - Army field outfits - Early explorers goods - Madras haberdashery - Indigo textiles - Western wear- Pop art threads - Beach wear - Athletic corner - French gentleman farmer And more…

I'm sorry, "French gentleman farmer?" Yes, thank you, I'll take two.

Mister Freedom also collaborates with Japanese clothing manufacturer Sugar Cane Co. for a full line of newly designed clothing - all of which seem to encapsulate a kind of early Los Angeles magic mixed with a worldly sense of antiquated universalism. What? I don't know, it makes sense to me. Think French prisoner meets 1920's dock worker meets Japanese denim has babies with antique linen remnants.

Check out their website HERE. Nothing compares to an actual visit to the warehouse however. Later, get in touch with your inner "Papa" at Hemingway's Lounge close to Hollywood and Vine. The atmosphere would almost certainly drive the real Hemingway into fits (which is almost always the case with homage atmospheres) but it is perfectly splendid for his die hard fans, and pretty much everyone else.

I plan to hit both places this weekend at various times...

Hemingway's Lounge

wild west: pistols, leather, feathers and laces

2011-02-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

ann demeulemeester mens collection 2009

zana bayne spring 2011

ann demeulemeester triple-lace boots

mr. james

soundtrack to my hibernation

2011-02-01T21:41:00.000-08:00

this month i will be painting and little else...

well, painting and listening to the frames.

here is my little coyote/wolf hybrid almost done.

PREDATOR INSTINCT REMOVED 18 x 24 inches oil and graphite and pyrography on board

GHOST: Joy Shannon and the Vacuum Bell at the Box Gallery

2011-01-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

Last night was cold cold cold but all the shaking and shivering was worth incredible performances by Will Morrison of The Vacuum Bell and Joy Shannon & the Beauty Marks. The event was highly documented with a film crew on site, a live recording and plenty of photographs - all of which I am excited to share once the material is available. For now, here are a few beautiful shots that came to my inbox this morning.

A special thanks is in order to Johnny Sampson and Adrienne Cameron of the Box Gallery for being such tremendous supporters of the show, the cd release event and all the etc. in between. Thank you also to Jordon Gallamore who lent us his PA for the event.

I am always so grateful to meet and work with people who are able to make beautiful things happen...

GHOST: this saturday, joy shannon and the vacuum bell

2011-01-25T15:08:00.000-08:00

The majority of the time, in my experience, independently released albums are the culmination of the efforts of a group of friends helping each other out. One person will design the cover while another will hijack the company copier to put it into production, some living rooms have better acoustics than others and i swear there is a rule that there can only be one accordion player per 12 mile radius. Polaroid photo shoots, backyard BBQ gigs that get broken up by the cops who then end up buying the EP, it all goes around and around until something resonates or the band breaks apart.

Singer/song-writers who need 6 months of solid alone time to create, are also fun to work with. They disappear and then emerge with songs that (in the case of my friends, and yes i am incredibly bias) are incredible. This coming Saturday night I get to watch two dear friends: Joy Shannon along with her band the Beauty Marks and Will Morrison of The Vacuum Bell, come out of self-imposed exile with new material. Joy is officially releasing her latest album, The Black Madonna, available now on itunes and will be performing this new material. This is one of Joy's most successful projects to date with gorgeous, lyrical and guttural all vying for the top descriptive. Will Morrison has returned to Southern California after doing time in Portland Oregon (please see Portlandia for more information) and has a wealth of new song writing that I am lucky to have heard in bits and pieces. This man's talent is beyond reason...

Doors open at 7 this Saturday at the box gallery in Costa Mesa. Entrance is FREE

p.s. this is an outdoor concert, so be sure to bring jackets, blankets, food and wine. seating is limited but feel free to bring your own.

will morrison aka the vacuum bell during an outtake from a 2010 photoshoot

joy shannon

exit through the giftshop

2011-01-24T00:33:00.000-08:00

I was smiling through this entire movie. The plot is funny and interesting and the footage of the artists at work is worth the entire movie all together. Plus, who doesn't enjoy a well played farce?
Banksy and Shepard Fairey make an amazing team.

Available to watch on hulu.com for the next 17 days

superkickass!

2011-01-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

The GHOST opening last night was awesome, so many great people came, the show looked beautiful, super thrilled. Today I am filled with a sense of relief and gratitude for so many things and it just so happens that the universe is bending to reflect my feelings. First off, it's a beautiful day and my morning bike ride was glorious. Secondly, my neighbor brought me a cupcake (my favorite food). Thirdly, this image came into my inbox from one Dave Chung (The Chung) promoting his inclusion in the upcoming SUPERKICKASS exhibition at the WWA Gallery in Culver City, CA.

This pretty much sums up how I feel at the moment:

You can see more of Dave Chung's work on his website TheChung.com

I will be in LA for a whole week (heaven) working the LA Art Show for saltfineart (so excited) so I plan on taking part in any and all openings in and around that time, including this one which looks awesome.

Let the good feelings continue...

GHOST: joy shannon interview

2011-01-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Recently, GHOST artist Joy Shannon and I sat down for dinner and antiquated drinks at the Memphis Bar in Santa Ana, CA. Side note on the Sidecars: The bartender Johnny Sampson, who is also the director of the Box Gallery where GHOST is opening on the 15th of this month, is as skillful a mixologist as he is gallerist. I absolutely love that place.

Wow, okay, so since we last saw each other, you have completed two full-length albums, one as Joy Shannon & the Beauty Marks and one as Joy Shannon & the Offering. In addition, you are also a teacher at the High School for the Arts in Santa Ana AND a prolific print maker. How...just how? (smile)

I don't know...when I do my music and my art, time seems to stand still. I am happy to teach in order to share my passion for what I do with others, but if I was not doing my music and my art, I would not be teaching a positive message. I am passionate about teaching art, especially to the high school age group, because my art and music truly saved my life at that time. It was during that age that I realized that I had no choice but to do my music and my art with my life, and I had to do whatever it took, like facing all of my fears and taking great personal risks considering where I came from, in order to do what I was born to do.

That is incredibly inspiring. Do you feel the pull on your time now that you are an "adult" and things seem to carry so much more weight? I think they call that a career but I'm still not entirely sure.

I definitely feel the pull at this point in my life to teach less. Doing my music and art is my life's calling first and foremost. Teaching has been a blessing that allowed me to continue to do my passions, when they were not making me any money.

But, yes, my heart is with my music and art always.

What is your attitude towards collaborative projects versus your own work? Do you prefer one over the other creatively?

I always preferred working alone because it was what I was used to, but ultimately working with other artists and musicians taught me how to share my work with confidence. Growing up, I was very isolated and art and music was my escape. But, I always longed to both share my art and music with others and have it understood, as well as make art in a collaborative partnership. I don't work well with big groups when my art is concerned but I do work well with partnerships that I build up a trust with.

I learned all I needed to learn in order to record myself in my home studio, but I always liked to work with producers who could record with more skill than I. I very carefully chose my producers to be gentle, kind and dependable people so I would feel comfortable sharing my most vulnerable songs with them. I pour my every private thought into my music and art, so it does feel very vulnerable to share.

Through working with supportive people, I have grown a thicker skin in regards to learning the skill of sharing the vulnerable art without feeling vulnerable about it. So through the years, I have grown stronger in myself because of the wonderful people who I gathered around me. I finally found the constant musical partnership I always longed for with Mark Sheppard of the Offering who produces both the Offering and the Beauty Marks albums now. He and I work like a conversation back and forth always.

It's an interesting pairing, you and Mark Sheppard. I have always interpreted your music to be more indi-folk meets selkie-harpists. (This Sidecar is to die for by the way...)

Though Mark and I create music that ranges from ethereal electronica to dark industrial and heavy rock together as "the Offering", Mark and I both agreed that the concept behind "The Black Madonna" was to strip away as much as possible to get to the rawest form of me. I actually wanted to capture the raw intensity of the 4-track tapes I had recorded when I was 16, 17 and 18. At the time when I was recording with just voice, piano and cello, I wanted the bigness of the full band sound that I would eventually obtain with the wonderful musicians that make up "the Beauty Marks". But, for "the Black Madonna" I wanted to integrate the sound of where I came from as a raw, young musician and all that I had learned over the years.

Are your fans to expect a harder more industrial Joy with this album?

"The Black Madonna" is my darkest album that I have released, though I have to say I have many very dark and bleak moments from my old 4-tracks. It was like when I was a high school kid writing and recording with no one but me when I was in the middle of the darkness of my very difficult childhood, but now about ten years later I can stare into the dark chasm of my past and finally not be scared that I will ever go back there. So now I can write songs about the darkest moments of my life without fear. This was an intense album.

The artwork you featured on the cover of The Opium Wars and The Black Madonna are your own prints (and fantastic). Do you create your work specifically to align with your music?

Thank you. I do create work specifically about my music. I write the music from raw emotions and then I go back and personify what the songs feel like in visual form. I am an expressionist at heart, so I tend to use the human form to embody the emotion I am trying to describe. All my work has blank backgrounds, like Gothic religious artwork, because for me the art, like the songs, come out of the ether- some undefined spiritual plane.

You are obviously proud of your Irish heritage and the Celtic theme runs through both your music and your art. Do you feel a particular pull to eventually go back to that area of the world to live?

I love Ireland and it is my home. I feel exiled right now, but I know I am here for a purpose. I will return there, because my heart is there. But Ireland to me has been both a place I've longed for but also a place that holds much of my family's difficult past. So I feel like my time spent in California has given me the freedom to face that and make my amends with it. I'll be stronger to face it then.

What do you feel is the dominant reason as to why you haven't returned home?

One of the major things I have had to face and heal from in my family past was the abuse that was suffered for many generations at the hands of Christianity. For example, my grandmother in Ireland was one of the women imprisoned by the Catholic church during the 1950s in one of the Magdelene convents for becoming pregnant with my father out of wedlock. No one in my family dealt with this deep wound and continued the religious (and other sorts of) abuse. I witnessed my father struggle with being rejected by his protestant Christian faith based on his being gay. I am a deeply spiritual person, so that wound ran to my soul of being abused by a spirituality that is supposed to uplift but instead is used to imprison, oppress and persecute.

Do you feel that living in California (the US) gives you freedom to practice your own beliefs?

In California I have been able to foster my ancient pagan spirituality and learn more about who the Celts were and I have found much comfort in that. I have written many songs about these themes, but it is especially thick on "The Black Madonna" in which I go back to embracing god as a mother and sing from the place of pain caused by patriarchal Christianity used to oppress.

Until then, how do you feel about living, working and creating in Southern California? Is there supportive base for your work here? or do you feel more love coming from Europe? Your music is insanely popular in Germany for instance.

I love being here now. Once I put my music out into the world, it suddenly felt smaller because I got support from all these unlikely places like Germany. In sheer numbers the most support for my music on radio, in people buying albums and the souls asking for an autographed poster comes from Europe. I think my style of music is more readily embraced there, yet I have received incredible support here in the US as well- just less monetary support.

In January you'll be showing your work alongside other artists who work very comfortably with dark imagery and yet not a one of you I would categorize as being a "dark" person. Do you feel that your artistic choices quiet more demons than they summon?

Yes, I am a happy person because I express my dark side in my art and music. I had an awful lot of pain that I needed to get out from my childhood. I still believed in the absolute reality of boundless love behind everything in the world, because of the simple fact that there is such a thing as art and music where I could express anything and everything and it was always going to be ok.

I really align with you on that. Thank you so much for spending the time to answer my questions. One more...

Your latest album The Black Madonna is out on itunes now. Where can we get a hard copy and have you ever considered releasing your work on vinyl?...hinthinthint.

The CD of the album is available on cdbaby.com. I would love to release my albums on vinyl because the original size of the artwork that I do for them is always the size of vinyl albums... it's been in the back of my mind for forever.

The GHOST exhibition opens this Saturday at the Box Galley in Costa Mesa, CA, reception from 7 - 10 pm.

Joy releases The Black Madonna during a special performance also at the Box Gallery on the 29th. Also featuring a special performance by singer/songwriter Will Morrison of the Vacuum Bell.

GET THE ALBUM (BEFORE THE OFFICIAL RELEASE) ON ITUNES, HERE

graciela iturbide

2011-01-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

i'm on (i mean in) a book!

2011-01-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

My little story "Instant Whatever" is in sexy sexy print. Here is some nice information on the efforts of ISM towards the book release. Deyermond books is one of my all time favorite places in LA so that is very exciting. I can't wait!

RSVP FOR THE POLAROID PARTY + BOOK RELEASE
http://www.ismcommunity.org/rsvp

Saturday, January 22 · 8:00pm - 11:00pm
Deyermond Art + Books
2801 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Join us as we celebrate the release of Still Developing: A Story of Instant Gratification.

After a popular touring exhibition that featured thousands of Polaroids from all around the world, this rare retrospective print collectible documents the ism Polaroid project with short stories, personal essays, and love letters celebrating instant film. The book also features Polaroids from over 200 professional and amateur photographers.

During the event a rare Polaroid exhibition will also be on display.

Download a SAMPLE PDF of Still Developing: A Story Of Instant Gratification

$30.00 + $3.99 shipping/handling

PRE-ORDER SPECIAL
http://www.ismcommunity.org/preorder

oh, and this...sing along with me

conveyed in owls

2011-01-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

ryan mcginness in 2009

2011-01-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

{the gentleman's website}

ryan mcginley

2011-01-02T13:16:00.001-08:00

happy new year!

2011-01-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

GHOST: joy shannon releases the black madonna on january 29th

2010-12-22T17:13:00.000-08:00

2010 has been an amazing year.

I am totally thrilled to announce that in conjunction with GHOST, Joy Shannon will be hosting a release party in celebration of her 10th album, The Black Madonna featuring a live performance with her band the Beauty Marks. This event has given me the opportunity to converse with Joy about her music, her international audience and collaborations with UK band The Offering. Be sure to check back in the weeks leading up to the 29th for a great interview and album giveaway.

Also performing that night is the singer/song writer Will Morrison aka The Vacuum Bell. Will received rave reviews for his participation in the 2010 OC Music Awards and has since spent time crafting a whole host of new songs during his time living in Portland Oregon. The first 50 guests to the event will receive a free music download of his single, I Know Why #2 so make sure to arrive early to stake out a place to drink and dine under the stars!

With that I leave you (for a few weeks) with wishes for a very happy New Year!

All the best for 2011,

Suzanne
Ashes In Orange Peels

GHOST: click it, drag it, save it, send it

2010-12-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

(thank you)

GHOST: postcard

2010-12-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

This beautiful card features the photography of Ellen Rogers on the front. If you aren't currently on the AIOP Fine Art mailing list, sign up here {email} Those who are can expect mail very soon. Exciting!

Cards will also be available at the opening reception, January 15, from 7 - 10 PM

GHOST: press kit

2010-12-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

To receive the entire press kit, please contact me here, {email}

GHOST: to be a zombie all the time, requires such dedication

2010-12-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

I am stunned by the talent of (my sister) Sarah Keliher Walsh. Her work is a guttural punch to the brain, the kind that makes the deep limbic system light up. Insane. She is currently working on a website/blog of her own which is exciting and a series of her work is being shown in the upcoming GHOST exhibition.

Speaking about art...

Last night my friend Johnny and I went out to a few openings in LA, most notably the maritime series by John Millei opening at the ACE. I still don't know what to write about it except that part of me is still there. You have to go...there is nothing I can say that will accurately convey the majesty of these paintings and if I include an image it will be 100% misleading. Don't even go to their website, just go to the gallery in person. Gallery hours are 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Tuesday through Saturday.

ACE GALLERY Institute Of Contemporary Art
@ The Wilshire Tower
5514 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
T: 323.935.4411
F: 323.202.1082

studio libertiny

2010-12-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

{more}

one word

2010-12-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

Melissa Plastic Dreams for Alexandre Herchcovitch

I am in love with these shoes by Melissa for Alexandre Herchcovitch. Made from ton-toxic, hypo-allergenic and recyclable plastic, the factory in Brazil where they are manufactured recycles 99.9% of water and waste. Even better, they are 100% cruelty free (including their employees who receive above-average wages and health benefits).

fabrica verde

2010-12-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

ABOUT

A confederacy of photographers, musicians and designers bound by the secret handshakes of late night revelry. A posse of guys and girls who live in New York, travel the world, and share your passion for Lomography/creative photography, great design, irony, and the somewhat askew.

Fabrica Verde is a place to champion the ideas, and products that are a part of our lives. Things we’re excited about and feel compelled to share.

We personally test, employ, and love everything that we sell. We hope you will as well!

(taken directly from their website, how awesome are they. saving up to expand my camera collection by one with the lubitel 166+, it's a pricey camera and will depend on selling some paintings, but soooo worth it)

designer shaina mote & caravaning in your clothes

2010-12-03T15:55:00.000-08:00

I'm too excited about life at the moment. Writing my forward for the GHOST exhibition catalog is a challenge only because I'm writing volumes and volumes on each artist. Editing down to a paragraph for each is proving torturous! Thankfully I live in town that provides me with ample distraction and a bike ride and coffee have been my mental medicine for this week so far.

The exhibition at saltfineart is stellar and we are so excited to be gearing up for the LA Art Show is January. I am looking forward to posting my musings on that experience.

In the meantime, since a good many things in my life are in transition, I thought I would post my favorite designer of the moment Shaina Mote and my daydream subject of choice: caravans. Le sigh...

Mandelbrot Set

2010-11-29T01:23:00.000-08:00

There is just something about fractals that put my mind at ease. I particularly love the artistic interpretation of the Mandelbrot Set above.

happy thanksgiving

2010-11-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

in lieu of a turkey

This year Thanksgiving is at my place and I couldn't be more thrilled. The oven is making the whole apartment warm and wonderful and I'm pouring a little soy nog into my coffee, waiting for the cooking crew to arrive (my sister and friends). I have so much to be thankful for this year, the list feels almost endless. I will make a special effort to write out the top joys in my life and share it with my friends and family.

Men in Belted Sweaters doesn't make the list as yet but maybe if I re-prioritize...

glass hill

2010-11-23T00:23:00.000-08:00

glass hill (click on the picture to visit their website)

just for today

2010-11-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sophie Calle's 'Rachel, Monique' at the Palais de Tokyo

my morning "attempt" to braid my own hair

they float very nicely

2010-11-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

“–Vloom!” He suddenly thrust his whole head out of the porthole, kept it there a few seconds, then brought it in just long enough to report, “Someone just dumped a whole garbage can of orange peels out the window.”

“Out the window. Out the window,” Mr. McArdle said sarcastically, flicking his ashes. “Out the porthole, buddy, out the porthole.” He glanced over at his wife. “Call Boston. Quick, get the Leidekker examining group on the phone.”

“Oh, you’re such a brilliant wit,” Mrs. McArdle said. “Why do you try?”

Teddy took in most of his head. “They float very nicely,” he said without turning around. “That’s interesting.”

“Teddy. For the last time. I’m going to count three, and then I’m-”

“I don’t mean it’s interesting that they float,” Teddy said. “It’s interesting that I know about them being there. If I hadn’t seen them, then I wouldn’t know they were there, and if I didn’t know they were there, I wouldn’t be able to say that they even exist. That’s a very nice, perfect example of the way–”

“Teddy,” Mrs. McArdle interrupted, without visibly stirring under her top sheet. “Go find Booper for me. Where is she? I don’t want her lolling around in that sun again today, with that bum.”

“She’s adequately covered. I made her wear her dungarees,” Teddy said. “Some of them are starting to sink now. In a few minutes, the only place they’ll still be floating will be inside my mind. That’s quite interesting, because if you look at it a certain way, that’s where they started floating in the first place. If I’d never been standing here at all, or if somebody’d come along and sort of chopped my head off right while I was–”

“Where is she now?” Mrs. McArdle asked. “Look at Mother a minute, Teddy.”

Teddy turned and looked at his mother. “What?” he said.

Video: Elizabeth Cotten speaks to Pete Seeger and shares her story about a NY freight train
Text: "Teddy" by J.D.Salinger (from Nine Stories)

GHOST: the photography of Ellen Rogers

2010-11-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

It is surreal, to be given the opportunity to work with an artist after having been a fan of their work for years. Although I almost always approach the work I exhibit from a fan's standpoint, it is a gift when I begin starstruck with the work and continue to build my appreciation and respect based on the individual that creates it. Such was the case in my correspondence with Ellen over the last few months. She communicates with strength, conviction and an ease that comes from someone possessed with a singular vision. So much of what I have come to know of Ellen Rogers represents the artist I wanted to exhibit in GHOST - strong, dedicated and sincere.

Ellen was kind enough to contribute three of her prints, not normally available to purchase, associated with a film that she is describing as a collaborative effort with the artist Prizme. It is very secretive at the moment but more information can be found through her website or by visiting the site dedicated to the project, http://thedissolution.prizme.co.uk/

The Dissolution 12 x 12 inches, framed for price and more information, please contact me

I encourage a visit to her website, which is a thorough archive of her work as well as a highly aesthetic experience onto itself.

space and it's many uses

2010-11-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

GHOST: aya kakeda and the beginnings of an exhibition

2010-11-16T01:23:00.000-08:00

"24th season finding his love, miss poisonous flower" 18 x 24 inches, mixed media on arches paper, contact me for price

I am thankful to Angelo of Metropolis Gallery in Philadelphia PA for introducing me to the work of Aya Kakeda, a multi-media and multi-disciplined artist working out of Brooklyn, NY (by way of Japan). She is one of 6 artists participating in the upcoming AIOP exhibition at the Box Gallery in Costa Mesa. I'll be posting notes, stories, artwork and what have you regarding the coming together of this show. I am so thrilled to be doing this work. The artists are incredible, Johnny Sampson, the director of the Box Gallery, is gracious, intelligent and funny as all hell. It's just been an incredibly enjoyable experience so far.

I spent the last few hours getting a draft of the catalog down including my curator's forward which I've included, in part (completely unedited) below. It begins to outline the concept behind bringing these particular artists together. All powerhouses of creative output.
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During the beginning stages of planning this exhibition, I started to read Carl Jung’s one and only exploration into the realms of parapsychology, Synchronicity. What Jung attempts in the text is a meeting of science and the paranormal, finding ways in which the two can be in accord. What I took away from the experience of reading it was a strengthened belief that the man had the mind of an artist.

There stands a good chance that the evolution of this show then was highly influenced by thoughts surrounding the paranormal, however, that was not my first intention. Foremost, I had in mind a group of artists that manage to walk a fine line between artistic expression and obsession - that the process of creating a work leaves an imprint of the artist and the more thorough the work, the stronger that imprint is. Every work of art has a “Ghost.” Whether it occurs in the subject matter or just the lingering presence of the artist’s hand, there is something moving, something semi-transparent.

In the work of Aya Kakeda, the Ghost takes the form of a runaway mascot of the 24th season roaming through an fully realized world filled with alchemists and spiritual helpers. In her work we see glimpses of the creator's soul wandering like her mascot through realms of her own imagination.
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more on the other artists over the next week or so...