COMRADES

Sparkles and Spice

“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”  – Dr. Seuss It’s December and I suddenly miss this place. It seems with the end of the year approaching, I’m slowing down with as much tenacity as when revving up in spring. But reflection isn’t the point of this update, that’s for another time. Today is …

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Published: Clear to the Marrowbones and Black Mirrors

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Over the moon to have these chimerical photos published in the “Blood” issue of the gorgeous Giuseppina Magazine. Clint and I have been friends for eight years this year, comrades and confidantes across oceans of time, and regular oceans, too. Eight years, eerily like the characters in the editorial’s namesake poem by Sparrow13. An excerpt: me and him know each other clear to the marrowbones and black mirrors by now me and him go on anyway eight years or twenty …

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Mail Day, Happy Day!

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A moment of snail-mail zen, brought to you by my dear friends Annah and Sam, whose surprise packages turned what was about to be a Very Annoying Monday into a wonderful day. Unbeknownst to my friends, I’d been in dire need of both skincare stuffs and a tote bag for my weekly trips to the organic market, and too busy to deal with either of these matters. Through the power of what I can only assume is serious comrade voodoo, …

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Flash-mobbin’ the Observatory with Annah and Josh

A big Dublin update is coming on Monday, but first I’d like to share some photos I took before leaving, near the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles during my dear homeslice Annah’s wedding. Annah, whom you should know as TheBelleFace on the ‘wubs, is one of my longest-time friends. We met at the San Francisco Art Academy dorms in 1998, when I was taking a summer comic book illustration class. We’ve seen each other through countless moves, loves and changes, and her marrying …

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Operation I – Going Away Shenanigans

I’m holed up in Manhattan, surrounded by a six suitcases and sleeping people, waiting for coffee and Micron’s final pre-Ireland vet appointment – mandatory de-worming must take place within three days of travel. Yesterday was the best. In thirty-eight hours we’ll be on a plane to Dublin. Last week, we U-Hauled our things from NorCal to my storage unit in LA, stopping at Matt‘s place for a couple of days. I shipped some art pieces to collectors, met Courtenay at my favorite vegan place, …

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Photo Flurry 120 – Electric Fun at Maker Faire 2013

Maker Faire is one of the very few Bay Area events that I’ve actually manged to attend since moving here six months ago. It was a lot less conference-centric than I had hoped, but as far as fairs go, it was great. Exhibitors were all super-friendly and genuinely loved talking about their goods, plus I got to catch up with friends, so – whee! And of course I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures amidst all the clamorous excitement, though …

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Photo Flurry 119 – LA Trip for Gag Me With a Toon 5

Steven Daily’s mural at WWA gallery LA was fun this time around, surpassed only by the car ride, which included learning Slovenian and teaching Russian and singing Slavic folk songs in unison. The opening reception for Gag Me With a Toon 5 was filled with much-missed friends, some excellent surprise run-ins and model behavior from Micron, who peacefully snoozed in her carrier the entire night. I wore my most ridiculous leggings and space shoes and lots of eyeliner, while RedBull …

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Photo Flurry 116 – LA Spin for Conjoined 3

Took my first trip back to Angel City last weekend for the opening reception of Chet Zar’s Conjoined 3. This annual group show has been an awe-inspiring congregation of talent from the start, but this year’s participants may have made Conjoined 3  its most impressive installment yet – the entire exhibition catalog is here. I spent about a month working on my piece for this exhibit, sculpting for the first time in over six years. My only experience until now had been …

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Photo Flurry 106 – Malibu Expedition

Saturday began with me admiring freshly-packaged stacks of Spacefriends. Cunch and I spent an entire day hand-packing these bad babies, so a degree of gloating was befitting. After the sticker revelry, A, Daniel, Sonya the dog and I drove out to Malibu for a picnic-n-hike adventure. I’d just had another mortality crisis, so physical activity and getting in close touch with the universe was more than necessary. There was salmon. There was also caramel and sea salt chocolate, home-made guacamole, berries …

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Photo Flurry 105 – Absinthe Bunnies

I love Absinthe. In the past 12 months, I’ve recommended an Absinthe documentary to my readers, talked about my love of hidden Absinthe bars in an interview, offered Absinthe drinks with me as an incentive for my D4RT kickstarter project, topped sorbet with Absinthe – are four examples testament enough? As an artist and art history enthusiast, one can’t help but be enchanted with this emerald potion, long associated with the muses thanks to the imbibing artists of 19th and early 20th centuries, such …

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Photo Flurry 104 – Desert Hedonism

Spent the weekend next to the California/Mexico border, bathed in the light of the largest, lowest moon of the year, at a desert hideaway. Around fifty people drove down from LA to celebrate comrade Alexandra’s birthday amidst mountains, great food and better friends. I’m bursting with impressions and gratitude for the generosity of the property management, the time our friends spend cooking and feeding everyone, the epic 2-hour yoga session that has my legs saying, “Thank you, Mistress, may I have …

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Photo Flurry 103 – Picnics and Ponies

Not long ago, Stephanie celebrated a birthday in the park, and my family and I celebrated 20 years since we emigrated to the U.S. – all in one rather hedonistic day. Happy birthday girl, with Daniel and Alexandra hypnotizing each other in the background. Sack-o-juice. The spread was bountiful. We had authentic Jambalaya, cream puffs, brownies, breads and fruit and mff. Duck, Danny, it’s the cheese! Unsuccessful attempt to hide when park security showed up and asked us to move to a safer …

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