Unmask the Mysteries... of Creating a "Designer Mask"...

This "Tribal Mask" was created for the "Unmask the Mysteries Masquerade Gala" which will "will benefit the AIDS Coalition Silicon Valley and 9 AIDS service and prevention agencies in Santa Clara County. Come for an evening of unique entertainment, foods, wines, and masks in the theme of Carnival in Brazil!"
It's my first attempt at a "designer mask", which is actually pretty fun...
"I fought the feathers and I... won!"

3 Hours of Research
7 Hours of Construction
30 Minutes of Transportation
$30 in materials
(Incl: gold, feathers, jewel, twine, shell "glitter", & acrylic paint)

I had no idea the theme was "carnivale" so, this might not be the most event-appropriate mask, but I still thought it was cool...
I'll be going down to "volunteer" tonight but I'm pretty sure I'll come back with loads of inspiration from the body art by MAC (!!!), food by the Fairmont Hotel and the freakin cool Velocity Circus (contortionists).

I feel like this was a really cool opportunity! Masks are not something I would normally make... so THANK YOU CHARLIE!!!

Fishy

I told someone I was a pescatarian. He thought I said "presbyterian" and went off on this 5 minute tangent on his growing up Presbyterian. It was funny... I giggled after politely listening and said, "oh, wow, that's cool. But I'm not Presbyterian. Not sure what I am in that department. But I'm a PESCATARIAN- ya know, like a vegetarian but I eat sushi..."
It was awesome.
Best part?
I'm now an Artist in Resident at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz... which just merged with a Presbyterian Church...

...It's the little things...

Geishas for Haiti!

I've posted the 5 thus far created on my art blog...
Busy Busy...

Alice in Superstition Land Event!

This is totally stolen from miss "Giovenetta". I will put up many pics on my art blog, but I wanted to give you a sense behind the piece... This just sumarizes the whole thing way better than I could have explained it... I am searching for video footage so you all can hear how AMAZING she was!!! UH! SOOOO love painting to her opera vocaliciousness!!! It was great to paint an actual model and Tony's rendition of "Jabberwocky" was downright delicious! Rawr, people, RAWR!

I think Gio summarized what it meant to collaborate with artists in other mediums well. She said, "I didn't have to hold back. When you sing in choirs, everyone has to hold back for the good of the group. But here, you singing out, being your original self was for the good of the group."

I LOVED that!

BTW, I also need to give a major shout out to the Red Paintings for giving me an ultra booster of inspiration this last month! You guys are FABULOUS!!!

...Thanks Gio for this:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alice in Superstition Land Event! Pics!!!
Check my picture album~

I had the AMAZING opportunity to sing Gretel exerpts from the opera Hansel & Gretel for a collaborative art event called: "I'm Late", conceptualized and organized by Trina Merry.

It was really an awesome experience.

She showed her canvas art on the side of the room consisting of striking Geishas painted specifically to raise money the Haiti missions trip she is undergoing in only a few weeks! She did one canvas every day for an entire week.

(That's a lot of creative energy and work!) Go Trina-Woman!!!
Not to mention SHE'S GOING TO HAITI!

Anyhow, where I fit into this picture is just a small piece, but significant to me. She and I entered the audience carrying the White Rabbit on a stretcher, debilitated by the somthing that bound him.

After setting the stretcher down, Trina invited the Rabbit out of his paralysis where all are able to see the clocks that are tied around his waist. They are all set to 3am.

Apparently this particular Rabbit is bound by a fear which had been paralyzing him. The clocks signify that fear. It is a superstition about 3am. (BTW- this event occured on Fri the 13th, hence the focus on superstition) After the Rabbit was revived, Trina proceeded to envigorate him using color, by painting and I by singing. I sang the Gretel exerpts because the lyrics and music embodies the message of awakening from a dream to a refreshed state of being.

Trina continued to paint Kate's, our White Rabbit, entire body save shorts and waistcoat.

During the last half hour I got to help, by Trina's invitation, along with several others!

Check out the pics in my new album titled: Alice in Superstition Land, to see Trina's ( and my ^-~) body painting and her GORGEOUS gallery art!
Oh, and both of us dressed up as Alice, w/ our own respective rabbits.

Thank God...

... I have a place to live!
Not just any place- a super fabulous place.
I will be moving to the 1 bdrm. guest house on my family's property which is currently, happily acting as studio/photography/craft storage for various members of my family.
This means as it gets cleaned out, i may get cool things- like today, for example, i got a freaking drafting table! A "light" one, no less with storage!
I get free cable, utilities, and internet.
How much is a 1 bedroom on Newport with all these perks and more?
...$400...

I forsee bills paid, art supplies purchased and traveling in my near future...

Especially with "The Red Paintings"... since Trash told me last night they are MOVING TO L.A.!!! They are going to have "Animal Rebellion Marches" here in the states and I plan to help out! How fun! Trash will dress up like Noah and lead the Rebellion like this:

Chocolate Jesus

"The Mass of Humanity goes to the grave with their song still inside."

-HDT




XOXO

Things in the Past, Things in the Future- Stop and Pick a Strawberry

There's been a lot going on for me. Ever since Cinco De Mayo, things have been sorta psychotic- and not in a sexy, blurred eye liner kind of way. In kinda draining, "look ma no hands" sort of way.

For starters my aunt passed away and that just flat out sucked. You have all these conversations you never want to have like "what color coffin do you want"? I will do a future post on my ideal funeral just to put it down somewhere, but I am too exhausted tonight.

But I did get to see family memembers I haven't seen in forever. And it was a Greek Orthodox funeral and it was like she was lullabied to sleep. I liked that. All these memories I leave behind as an "adult" flooded back and I have yet to process them all out. But many of them are good...

Then it was on to LA cuz Jaclyn bailed out on me and everyone else, actually, in search of herself or something. She moved without telling ANYONE to San Diego. Pretty much sucked for me since that gave me approximately 10 days to move out, go to this funeral, and well, figure out how to be homeless for a while. I was pretty pissed, but I'm getting better. I went down to LA and had a really good time with Caroline and the Red Paintings (especially a particular drummer) and it was really good to see Jac- she is one of my best buds and its just not cool to suddenly have to disconnect a strong friendship like that- made me feel super abandoned.

I came back and had TWO days to move out. TWO! All I gotta say is, thank God for Grandma, Dad and the Rempels! Yeesh!

After that I pounded out 17 hour days to pick up the delegated pieces people screwed up for the Compassion Unleashed Conference. That was a pretty crazy experience! The power went out TWICE! So from a tech standpoint, we had to get pretty inventive. My favorite invention of the day went to Josh Rempel who engineered electricity from his van in the parking lot and brought light to the building! Also triumphant were the 200 candles we lit for a rather romantic morning.

Right now I'm painting and trying to sleep off this cold that's been lingering too damn long.

I have so many things going on creatively- its awesome and I'm just trying to keep up! I move into my new studio on the 15th.
Before that I have the Haiti Comedy night that I'm supposed to create some form of booth for and an art piece to auction off- what I've been currently painting is somewhat dark and I'm not so sure it's event appropriate. Hmmm...
On the 13th is the next Artist Quarters and I will be performing the second day of creation... I kinda want to skip ahead to a different series of seven- the seven deadly sins- but I don't really have the brain capacity tonight...

With all that is ahead and behind me, I was really grateful for this story Brennan Manning shared in his recent book on Tenderness- its about a monk who is being chased by a lion. He slides to the side of a cliff. He starts so slip and sees the jagged rocks below. Should he go back up? He looks up at the snarling lion. No, that wouldn't work. So what does he do? He looks around and sees a patch of strawberries growing. He reaches out and picks a strawberry and says, "Mmm, best strawberry I've ever had".

I probably butchered that story, but I like it right now. Mmmm... the opportunity to write... Mmm... bubble bath. Mmmm... fun cuzzies house with Wii and DDR games... Mmmm... fun things to paint...

BTW, if anyone wants cherries, there's a ton on this tree out here and they'll prob only last the week... come and get it!
XOXO