phloe and doug's art opening

my roommate and her writer/poet friend had an art opening last thursday, april 29. april 29 is also the 12 year anniversary of the LA riots.

phloe's pieces supplemented and were based of of doug kearney's work. his poetry shed light on his views of racism, black identity, the appropriation of hip hop, stereotypes, and love.

the show is called The Jungle Baby Collabo Show/Minstrel Flows and is shown at cal arts in valencia.

here are some pictures of the night:


this piece i completely connected with. it was the first painting she did when she started with the series. basically, the form in the left's head is exploding and the figure in the right is trying to connect with him and get into his head.


now, the pictures do no justice on the colors of these paintings. they are very bright and vibrant but everytime anna tried to take a pic with the flash, there were hot spots in the pic due to the flash.




doug has a poem called "supa n!gga" and the chorus is "you build a monster slowly". it lists all the stereotypes of blacks thru out the era and how it builds up to explain the struggles of the the black community today.


another shot of the paintings. very whimsical. this is phloe's depiction of the sadness and the loneliness and how some people accept it. very doctor seuss-ish. its also commenting on how fantasy is used in order to depict a happy, perfect world, (ie. disney). her paintings are fantasy as well but not masking what is going on.


this is a 70's cat she found in a flea market. she didn't make it but she added it because it fits and it is sad looking. her pieces have that 60's psychodelic look, with 70's coloring, and graff influences.


another shot of the paintings


the artists. can you tell phloe looks uncomfortable in this pic. she didnt think she was going to be called up before doug's performances.


doug performing. he had some art work too, fusing his poetry and graphics of the LA riots


phloe didn't want to take pics with her work but darren was all for it! lol


and the photographer of the night, my sister anna. she took pics while i video taped. thanks, sis!

so of course, i can be off of on the interpretation of phloe's work. we talked about it afterwards. so take my words with a grain of salt and talk to her about it.

congrats, phloe!!

hey we just had an earthquake. well, i didn't feel it but i heard from the special report on the telly.

alfie and phloe in rare form this morning

Alfie says: i think i have a longer version of michael jackson's haircut (watching the news)
LuICYLOOooo: stop it you do not
LuICYLOOooo: you definitely have lita ford's hair
LuICYLOOooo: cllllooooooooooossseeeeee youuuuuuuuurrr eyeeeesssssssssss
Alfie says: HAHHAHAHHA, I DONT HAVE A SHE-MULLET
LuICYLOOooo: hahahahahah!
Alfie says: YOUUUUUU KISS ME ONNNNCE!
Alfie says: YOU KISSED ME TWICE!!!!!
LuICYLOOooo: (rollin)
Alfie says: COME ON PRETTY BABY
Alfie says: KISS ME DEAAAAAAADLY
LuICYLOOooo: ACTUALLY
LuICYLOOooo: do you have stevie nick's hair?
Alfie says: ((( GASP ))))
Alfie says: bite me
Alfie says: ...
LuICYLOOooo: SEEE SEE all the fun we were making of the portrait girl!
LuICYLOOooo: =-O
Alfie says: i so not have white rocker girl hair
Alfie says: i have michael's hair
LuICYLOOooo: dude. you CANT have the same coif as the king of pop
LuICYLOOooo: HAHAHAHAHAHA
Alfie says: hahahhahahhahhahahhaahhahhha
LuICYLOOooo: like, really. is your blood sugar low? do you need to get some breakfast? cause you're hallucinating
Alfie says:

LuICYLOOooo: LIKE I WAS SAYING
LuICYLOOooo: YOU DO NOT HAVE THE COIF OF THE KING OF POP
Alfie says: ahhaha a longer version of it
LuICYLOOooo: his has more body anyway...
LuICYLOOooo: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Alfie says: HAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA
Alfie says: ((( GASP )))
LuICYLOOooo: nah man
LuICYLOOooo: okay, if i had to pick someone to compare you to for hair emulation
LuICYLOOooo: it would be....
LuICYLOOooo: let me think about this one
Alfie says: the mom from the george lopez show?
LuICYLOOooo: nope.
LuICYLOOooo:


Alfie says: valerie bertinelli??????
LuICYLOOooo: cmon now, you know you LOVE that picture
LuICYLOOooo: what i can't understand is that you say NAY to valerie and YAY to the hair of a man whose best friend was a chimp
Alfie says: hahhahahhhahahhahahhahhahaha
LuICYLOOooo: i am cracking up and i am the only person here in my office
LuICYLOOooo: i can hear the other orgs on this floor closing their doors

crap.
looks like i gotta pay a bill.


oh well. enjoy the broken images.

sanctity in solitude

there are alot of transitions going on in my life. what is different about these changes are that they were subtle and then they creep up behind you and then *WHAM!*, there they are in front of you.

you get so busy in life that you forget about your core- yourself. i have been so busy with doing things that when i have time to take a step back, you realized that not only did you change, but things around you change. Lesson#1- embrace the moment.

i realize that i haven't been turning to god as of late. i mean, i do my nightly prayers but many times they are mumblings i do before i fall asleep.

so yesterday,i tried to reclaim my relationship with my creator.

i am normally known as the "spiritual one" in the group. or the "wise one". it's so easy to step back for others because, well, you are in the outside so you can give them a better eagle's eye view. but when it comes to myself, well, all i hear are my own mumblings. Lesson #2- take care of self and listen to your own spirit's needs.

so, i asked for a lesson. i wanted to know why things are happening the way are happening. why is it that i have a wonderful family, great friends, and an awesome bf but i still feel lonely. why is the universe causing me to pull away from love ones even though i didn't want to.

so, i asked for a lesson.

prayed to god. really prayed to god. and i tried to listen.

and i had a dream.

and words i remembered waking up was... "there is sanctity in solitude"

sanc·ti·ty
1. Holiness of life or disposition; saintliness.
2. The quality or condition of being considered sacred; inviolability.
3. Something considered sacred

sol·i·tude
1. The state or quality of being alone or remote from others.
2. A lonely or secluded place.

i don't know if is because i heard those words the night before during wendell's poem that he read at nommo. but it is distinct that god wanted me to hear those words and to remember them.

but now i am in a bind. yes, i yearn for holiness. yes, i yearn for sacredness. but no, i don't want to be lonely, nor do i want to be remote from others.


but you know, sometimes you gotta take faith in where life is taking you. so obviously, i am meant to be where i am at. so why fight it. now to find out why i have to be pulled from people, why i feel distant from the people that i love.

until then, let me focus on working on these projects for my clients before i head out to rehearsal tonight.

remember folks, there is sanctity in solitude