Hi (another) guy!

I was stuck in a bit of a creative rut today. (it happens.) i was looking for a display font to use (... yes, i was so desperate, i was headed there) and although i am not sure that i found what i want/need -- i did find THIS GUY!:



ha! the sight of his sad little face really made me smile! i want to give him a hug and tell him that everything will be ok!

meet this guy and some of his friends!

+

it seems that all is right.

i cant explain the meaning of my statement -- but it just seems that so many missteps have lead to -- the right step. a true testament ... to things coming full circle. just when i thought i couldnt bear another minute -- everything changed! minutes became stepping stones for ideas fed by love carried to clouds which have rained production.

and now love. for all things life.

Labors of Love

Therapy Artist Collective, my sister Marci & I, participated in the second monthly DAM {Downtown Art Market}! It was a great opportunity to pump out some new artwork, meet other creatives and give the community an opportunity to buy some THERAPY -- "everyone needs some."

we "decorated" our tent with these awesome paper flower print globes. the pink matched that of our therapy logo. of course!

the Therapy Artist Collective sign hung proudly on our tent!


table spread inside the Therapy booth, complete with mock up gift wrapping that we offered to our customers.



Although it proved to be a blistering hot summer day in the heat of texas we kept our spirits alive and well! Marci and I have never shown art work together and surprisingly our work... works. together! many of the colors Marci uses in her bag collection are same of my poster work. which is surprising in itself because we work independently at our own studios. i guess it is a testament to the idea that we are a COLLECTIVE. we inspire each other to create and obviously share an artistic aesthetic.

Marci & I seem to work well together on all fronts. our booth proved to be one of the popular spots at the art market and we were proud to see people leaving the market -- Therapy bags in hand! while sweltering in the heat we couldnt help but feed off of the creative energy all around us. marci & i made a list of new Therapy items to be featured at the next DAM.

i am excited to be a part of this blossoming art venture which will potentially shape our large texas town into a thriving artist community.

lucky rocks

the San Marcos was just as lovely as i remembered it -- a crisp 68 degrees -- which, by the way, is the perfect temperature to compliment the hot texas heat.

my hair did not wave the same way it used to. and i attribute it to the loss of my 10 inches.

the river water was so clear. standing on the bank of the river -- i could see the rocks at the bottom! i found a flip flop floating solo and made a 5 rock sculpture on some stairs.

i would completely ignore all of my responsibilities if i lived near a body of water this beautiful -- so i guess it is a good thing that i do not.

neighbors

the past 20 months i have been neighbors with this communication tower. i see it miles before i get to my house and every morning as i am leaving my house. it has become a landmark to me, a staple in my life. my entire neighborhood is flooded with these communication towers but i can always spot "my" tower out of the many that line the horizon on the south side of town.

as i prepare to move from my neighborhood, my house, my side of town -- i am a bit sad to leave "my" tower behind. thankfully i have an abundance of photos and even a few paintings documenting my time spent with this tower. and more than that, i have the memory of what this tower -- this staple of consistency of my life in lubbock-- has personally meant to me.

Hi guy.

From the "ugly" family to mine. The newest addition -- Gogi Garcia... he loves Typography. clearly.

feelings i used to know.

I'll blame the warm weather for my unshakable thoughts of swimming. well, not just swimming -- but swimming in that spring fed river.
...
The other day, a friend told me that she never learned to swim. I recalled my experiences of swimming in the San Marcos river. The years of school in San Marcos afforded me a wealth of knowledge and taught me the value of always having a swimsuit when in the presence of a river!

There is something about that river water that makes my entire body happy. And lately I crave the feeling of the river water all around me. I miss that natural wave in my hair that I have only known after swimming in that river...

Flatout FlatSTOCK

FlatSTOCK! Poster! Convention! proves, yet again, to be one of my favorite events of the entire year. This year, Flatstock 20, was my 4th annual poster convention to attend.
It was quite a sight to see.
And what is more, I found many artists that I have work from participating again this year. It was fun to talk shop with them and say "oh yeah, i have that print that you did last year.. with the birds.." and for them to say "oh! yeah, that was a good one! glad you got that one".

There was even a Lubbock-based design firm exhibiting! FD2
wow. there are "creatives" in Lubbock!

As in years past, the Poster Convention proved to be the creative "recharge" I crave. I could feel the energy from all of the creatives in one room circling around mine. My face hurt from smiling. And I left there on a creative high, ready to get back into the studio and crank out some art! woohoo

See you at Flatstock 21. March 2010

self...

10 years. 10 inches.

... of hair that is.

my sister and I recently donated our hair to Locks of Love, a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

my sister's decision came quickly -- most likely because she is a very giving and spontaneous person. Mine crept up like a cold. Small and subtle in the beginning and then full blown "get this hair off me".

by the time i arrived at the salon my sister's hair transformation was in full swing. all i could think was ... "you are next". i got all flushed on my chest and my face felt like it was on fire. i think i was sweating. the hair dresser pulled my long hair back into a braid, pulled it away from my nape and began to cut.. well, hack really. she realized that her shears were no match for my massive mane so she called one of the other girls over and said "bring the big shears with you!". gulp.
finally i felt the braid break free from my skull.

relief.

and closure for so many things, so many memories culminated within that 10 inches i carried for at least a decade. and although i feel a bit selfish for believing my own personal relief was the motivation for my hair disconnection -- it made me smile to think that maybe that hair will go on to love someone else as i loved it.
it was hard to see it go. i loved that long hair... and the memories it held.

but now, onto new things, new hair, new memories..

Life Lecture

Last weekend was fortunate to attend a Life Lecture given by Sri Ashwini Prajnaa, an Indian spiritual scholar.



After about an hour of Pranayama (yoga breathing), a few Indian pastries and a cup of green tea, I settled in for a lecture of ideas.

He preached but was not preachy.

Maybe it was the Pranayama done in such a way as I have never experience, maybe it was the 30+ people in the small studio which was warm, maybe it was the green tea.. or maybe it was just listening to a person simply talk about his life; something ignited within.

He spoke of treating the body as a vehicle towards enlightenment. Just as any vehicle needs, our bodies too need maintenance and fuels to travel. And with proper consumption of all of these things one can reach true salvation.
Along with Progress we must face and accept Stress. Progress. Stress. Stress. Progress. The task is to find, live and balance between the two.
The closing portion of the lecture was an acknowledgement of the healing power of something we may take for granted... laughter. Yes, laughter. We spent the remainder of the class laughing. I love the photo above because it embodies just that spirit. The spirit of Sri Ashwini Prajnaa laughter, teaching and love.