I am surrounded by people who do amazing things.


And not to say that the people who are not around me don't do amazing things; it's just that my friends do things out of the norm.


We didn't follow the equation that we were supposed to follow.


and because of that,it makes life more exciting, more adventurous but also makes life more scary because of the chances we take. we have to jumpstart our lives, seek the opportunities. pick our own selves up and brush ourselves off and continue again.


the most important thing we are doing is following our dreams.





which is the story of my friend MC Foley.



she spent 13 months writing a novel. excuse me, she spent 13 months writing a novel which pushed its way to existance. a story that she could not longer contain and a story in which she had to write in order to heal from a tragic loss. as this is her way of mourning and saying goodbye to a friend, it is also a way of opening up and "giving birth" to Izzie, Poe, and Rossa and "The Ice Hotel."


now i can go on and on about the book but i will just let you go to The Ice Hotel website and read up on who she is and what the book is about. (shameless plug: i designed the site. tee hee!)


i definitely wanted to express on how proud i am of her for finishing such a huge feat. it's not easy to shut out the world and focus on this world entirely made up by your self. to dedicate waking moments that could have been spent hanging out with friends, socializing, taking morning jogs, relaxing, watching tv into something that demands so much of your energy and time. it's not easy to TRUST a work done by you and take a chance at the unknown possibilities on what this project can bring forth.


but she did it, and THAT is inspirational!


this past weekend, we went to SF to promote her book as well as Traci Kato Kiriyama's new book of poetry "signaling". thanks to my friend E, i was able to get in contact with Bindlestiff Studios to host the event at the Oasis Center for Girls. They also asked me to live paint, so how can i say no?


a bunch of our friends were able to get tickets for the weekend. it's exciting because we ALL are so busy with our projects that to go on this trip is so needed. it was like a reunion for all of us.




randy wore his special airport shirt





sarah is like me. we both prefer aisle seats



at the BART station



my live painting session turned into a collaboration with two cutest kids at the event!



i was drawing the little girl and not five minutes later, her mom came up and said that her daughter wants to be an artist and wanted to meet me and watch closer. well, i had her painting instead.



this is the bottom half of the painting.


as much as i love to paint for myself, i love to create with others as well as help them find their own "voice." being able to express and communicate is a form of healing and finding the power within Self. so no matter if this child grows up to be a designer, a painter, or a lawyer or doctor, she should be able to continue to express and create because it's attach to the development of her being.





other highlights of the trip:
- sarah running 10 miles on sunday
- seeing college friend christie r.
- hearing traci read her poetry
- seeing byron and alice
- having lunch with my artist friend MECA ISA
- seeing E. and sharing a hug
- meeting new friends and meeting up with old friends
- the morning walk around the PanHandle Park
- Filipino fusion food at the Mercury Lounge
- Magic Mic-ing it
- the Ferry Building and its Farmers Market
- sharing drags of Nat Shermans on the balcony
- the conversations and the understanding of friendship


big shout out and thanks for giving us a place to stay to Mark. we are so so grateful!

Pop-op Co-op Shops and nomadic artistic souls:

A funny thing happens when your state goes into a financial crisis.

Businesses close and hence, commercial property are vacant and yet, nobody has the means to rent out the place which then makes this busy city of mine looke more and more like a ghost town.

Unless you are given the opportunity to take one of those vacant shops and turn it into something more lively.

like AUTOFREAK!





Traci had the opportunity dropped on her lap and called out to three more friends (keiko of mango pop, phloe, and me) to see if we can rock this space for 30 days.

We took over the abandoned auto high-performance goods shop in a mall in Little Tokyo and made it into a co-op pop-up shop/gallery and a sometimes performance space.










we spent a good amount of time of cleaning, prepping, and installing lights and art for make it ready for our 30 day stay at the Galleria. our friends really came through to make this happy. i mean, how many of really have a chance to run your own shop at a mall.

now granted, i never thought i would be back in the mall but this time, to be a temporary art space to a ghost town of a mall in the hopes of stimulating THEIR economy, as well as the artists we bring in is a fabulous way to participate in this consumerism game.


one of my installations


the poetry table with my "owlfie"


with artists, phloe and steve wong.


my table with my prints, magnets, custom sneakers and shirts


with my friend jenn tamera



For more pics, check out this link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5897925&l=37f5eb01f0&id=501152463