Pie

Went to the farmers market for blueberries,

ended up with peaches.

Blame it on the universe for distracting me

with its unique brand of humor.
Peaches, blueberries.
In the end it doesn't really matter
as long as it tastes good.

Rose

Go West Project - Rose

ROSE

She's one of my favorite subjects.

Quirky, beautiful, expressive, effervescent

She loves dessert, glittery nail polish, twirling,

and picking out her own clothes.

Today she mastered a Margot Tenenbaum-goes-to-Coachella vibe.

Ghosting

Is it so scary and difficult to be kind?

Is it easier to be rude and just disappear?

Just say you stopped being interested.

It's as simple as that.

Friday

A RAY OF LIGHT.

Kicking off a long weekend with a hike in the 'hood.

Letting Go

While on holiday in Mexico,

Mad Whip, Swandra and I entertained ourselves with the bewitching Wild Unknown deck.

We're playing again, albeit long distance,

and enjoying the witchery.

Tonight I'm comforted by the uncanny wisdom of The Hanged Man.

He is the perfect response to my question, and earlier draw.

The In Between

Change has presented itself like a train pulling into a station.

Departure is imminent, yet ETD is still unknown.

I straddle the meridian, eager to move to one side, to commit to change,

but I'm still in the lull.

A calmness has washed over me like a damp cloth over a smoldering ember.

I've surrendered to the lull.

I have no energy to question the pace at which my life moves.

I accept I have no control,

nor do I have a desire to create false momentum.

I do not know best.

I patiently wait, and fill my days with intermittent stretches of productivity and idleness.  

Quotidian rhythms are for others.

I eat when I'm hungry, sleep when I'm tired, and update my blog in the wee hours of a new day. 

Books

My passion for story and the written word is insatiable.

The more I read, the more I want to read.

I've been remiss documenting the spines I've cracked open the last few months.

I'm sure a few have fallen through the cracks, but these are the ones I remember.

The Unknown

THERE IS A PECULIAR PLEASURE IN RIDING OUT

INTO THE UNKNOWN.

A PLEASURE WHICH NO SECOND JOURNEY

ON THE SAME TRAIL EVER AFFORDS.

 Edith Durham

 

5 18 16

His kiss was like a promise

whispered to the wind.

Discussing Art

The Broad sponsored a conversation

between artist Robert Longo and his long time friend Henry Rollins.

Motivation for his large format charcoal drawings like

Men in The City, Waves, and Mushroom Clouds

was discussed.

The Conversation was philosophically dense and inspiring.

It's what I love most about art.  

Nothing is made randomly.

The artist's narrative is sometimes veiled, sometimes obvious,

and often misinterpreted.

But there is always a story, an inciting incident, which sends the artist on his/her journey.

5 16 16

The soul should

always stand ajar

ready to welcome the 

ecstatic experience.

Emily Dickenson

Returning Home

On a cool, misty spring morning,

my uncle finally joined his mother and brother.

Five Two

YOUTH HAS NO AGE

Pablo Picasso

Go West Project - Gwen

I spotted Gwen in a field of daisies,

singing to herself while picking an unpretentious bouquet.

She nodded yes, when I asked if I could take her picture.

Her mother wandered up from the shoreline.

I asked her permission too, explaining I was doing a portrait project.

Making small talk, my friends added that I was visiting to LA.

Gwen called her mother over and whispered,

"I think I'm going to be famous."

Discovery Park

Walking into the Mercer Island QFC

a gregarious woman stopped in front of us and blurted out, "Are you sisters? You look alike."

We look nothing alike.

"Yes", I replied.

"You're in harmony", she added with a wide mischievous grin.

Her observation made us giggle like teenagers as we selected yellow squash for dinner.

I have no doubt that after 40+ years of friendship

our connection is perceivable to the naked eye.

There is no way of knowing that the first grader you hang out with during recess,

or the girl you share french fries with in junior high

will be forever coiled in your life.

As we sat in AM's magnificent wooded back yard,

half moon rising over flowering rhododendrons,

sounds of animals scurrying in the bushes,

I looked at these two women by my side and was in awe of all that they had become.

They are more than friends, they are women I respect and adore.

They are accomplished, worldly, interesting, and interested.

 Perhaps what amazes me most is how, when we're together, we continue to discover

 things about each other and ourselves.

The latter is through a unique lens since so many key experiences involve each other.

There's an ease and comfort that comes from being known and seen so deeply and purely.

Go West Project - Lily

Go West Project - Elan

My Friend's Children

Reconnecting with AM at her stunning new home in Seattle

was particularly special because I was able to spend time with her kids.

We've met before, but the interactions were brief.

They're funny, delightful, smart, playful,

and growing up quickly.

Elan endured me and my camera as I snapped dozens of photos
in the fading pacific northwest light.

9 of Cups

Go West Project - Tamara

TAMARA

Tamara didn't want to have her picture taken.

She was a vision, dreadlocks piled high on her head, reclining on a shabby chic couch

 in the middle of a courtyard whose peeling walls were covered in graffiti.

She couldn't see her glow as she repeatedly told her husband to stop snapping his iphone.

I wandered into the situation, an interloper.

Tamara relaxed when I confirmed her husband's instincts,

she was indeed picture worthy.

She acquiesced, "but I hate having my picture taken," she said, unable to contain her smile.

Go West Project - Richard

 RICHARD

Richard is another friend I initially met through my brother.

I think of him as a new friend, but in truth, we've known each other for 8 years.

We met when I was in between gigs, and hadn't yet started my company.

A shared passion for art, architecture, the east side of LA, and travel

guaranteed easy conversation.

He had me down for the count, laughing uncontrollably

when he told me about tripping an airport DEA sting.

Pre 9/11, he innocently stashed a small amount of pot in his sock

in hopes of stimulating his ailing father's appetite.

A drug sniffing dog, on a blind man's leash,

was immediately on to him, setting the operation in motion.

Our friendship has led to collaborating on two projects.

One was so close to a green light, we started to taste the dream.

A last minute derailment was soul crushing.

Thankfully, we're resilient.

Hauser, Wirth & Schimmel

Every time I'm downtown I'm amazed by the city's continuing transformation.

Since my last visit to the arts district, two months ago

a mega gallery has opened.

Hauser, Wirth & Schimmel, more like a museum than a gallery, 

occupies 116,000 square feet,

and spills into a courtyard with a soon to be open restaurant.

The complex is anchored by a two-story building, built in 1917,

that once served as the administrative center and employee bank for a flour mill company.

The inaugural exhibit is Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947-2016.

My favorite works were Ruth Asawa's crocheted wire sculptures.

The art scene in DTLA is exploding!

My every changing city brings me so much pleasure.

The notion that I would one day out grow this city

especially when my career no longer anchors me here,

is being challenged my the new developments downtown.