Found in an old paper journal over the weekend...

I was looking for some archived art , when I spotted this scrawled in a journal from the early to mid 90's.

August 31, 1994

"I was in some town. Occasionally, a red horse would run through but nobody could catch it. I eventually did and I rode it, bareback, out of the town."


Damn, I have absolutley NO recollection of writing this at all, but there it is. In 1994, I lived in NJ at the time, and I liked the town I lived in just fine. I find it significantly haunting to come across it now since this upcoming weekend will mark 9 years in San Diego for me. Since my cross-country move from NJ I've never quite felt well-rooted here. So it is befitting to re-read it now, perhaps out-loud. mit vim and vigor! I've gotta see a man about a horse..or catch one myself apparently.

Go me!

K~

Better late than never - Pt. 1

So today, courtesy of a myspace pal who gave me a heads up, I finally got ahold of one of the many pics taken at Comic Con. Someday, I imagine they will trickle in from different people and random sources. But for now I have just a handful. I think this would be from Saturday July, 25th. (hard to believe that was just over a full month ago!) Simply CLICK on the image to view photo full size.

xoxo,
K~

Enlightenment via Modular Origami..

In my world it makes perfect sense that if you see someone at your local coffee house leaning against a gargoyle statue and holding a spiked origami dodecahedron, of course you should approach such an individual and ask them a mass of questions. So I did. While I was only visually drawn to the piece at first, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by Mark Rowe's handi-work and the conversation as well. Only to be blown-away next by his understanding of the Art of Origami and respect of the form he had chosen to represent.

His vast knowledge of the subject on an artistic level, plus his ability to explain it's numerical relation and connection to physics, the medical, metaphysical, even the relative spiritual symbolism of the pentagon itself - (formed by the points on each side of the piece) was all so very intriguing to me. It was also translated quite well, even to a mere lay person of the subject of Mathematics or Geometry such as myself. Admittedly, in my school girl days I was far too busy with Art, Literature, Music and History studies to ever delve into Mathematics beyond their most basic level required for graduation and college prep. To be fair, in four years of high school Math no one made it sound as interesting as Mark did in 15 minutes or so.

Please do check out the amazing work of Math Tutorist and very talented Origamist Mark Rowe on his Youtube channel. To view and purchase his work you can visit to his online etsy shop.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend.

K~

Lost & Found

I was editing some photos from the L.A. trip and Winchester house, when I randomly came across a folder with a couple cell phone shots from the Casbah. Taken at the stroke of midnight on May 14 going on the 15th of 2007. What an amazing show that was! You know, sometimes I forget just how long I've been listening to them and how much I really dig the Meat Puppets. This find was a nice reminder to throw on a couple of songs and dig-in. Sure, there's a myriad of songs to enjoy from these guys, but I've always loved this one for the upbeat melody and lyrics. (as well as that great little bass riff at the beginning and in the middle.)

A picture of a goddess
Of a planet in the window
Through a tiny hole in the giant curtain
I have watched while it stood undressing
I want more, more eyes
I want to see more lies..

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Click play "∆" on the virtual web cassette above and enjoy,

K~

Smell-O-Vision

My house reeks of turnpenoid™ and oils, and this = excellent.

It's rare I delve into oils these days (acrylic being my preferred medium) but when I do, look out ! It's a very ritualistic and almost perfume-y adventure for me. Scents definitely trigger memories for me. I can recall being like 5, and fascinated by all the little glass bottles and tubes of colour around my Dad's workspace when he painted with his oils. It's the same smell and has that same oily and grungey , almost childlike messiness to me still. I really let myself go with it. And if I get too carried away, it's nothing that a little turpenoid can't wash out. (By the way, an aromatic nip of Makers Mark and the scent of linseed oil really compliment one another nicely.)

Sometimes I just enjoy the smooth and drawn out process of oil painting. Taking my time, then stepping back and looking it over, defining and re-defining, etc. Plus, it's as forgiving as photoshop in the sense that if it's layered in just such a way, you can pretty much scrape or lift-away any mistakes you make with a knife. (perhaps even long after you've made them.) It's all very free-flowing and spontaneous. Knowing any risks and chances can be taken, and errors can be made but all still easily lopped-off the canvas after inspecting the whole piece over time.

Today, I am working on a nude study. Very soft and curvy.

Cheers,

K~

Devil may care

This is one of those contemplative sort of days for me.The kind of introspection I'd wager all form of Artists and creative persons succumb to now and again. I've come to realize that any pain I subject myself to is self-chosen, despite fate handing it over to experience in the form of emotions, events and circumstances. And I process the data and utilize my artistic skills and creative prowess to work through such experiences.It pulls it into this world.Thus turning it from a mere emotion-provoked thought or feeling into tangible, earthly matter. Pretty realistic, no? And it's my chosen 'yob' as an Artist to do so. But some days, I wonder about the concept of a parallel universe (or universes?) a little too much perhaps. Or maybe I just read too many old comics and graphic novels?


Well, the rest of the world can don their masks, feed upon themselves and cause all matter of misdeed and "evil" for happiness, position or material gain, well-maintained appearances, etc. (insert a motivation of your choice as I am just generalising here.) But I know the facts as this: My heart tells me where to go and what to do. We can't control other people's actions, but we can control our own. Most of the time we end up breaking our own hearts the worst anyway, and it's just human nature for us to blame it on another person or event, timing, society, or the world itself.

I exist (physically) in this world and reality, but I find I sometimes can imagine I live within two. (perhaps more?) The one where the threat or fear of death doesn't mean anything to me and everything is connected...and the one where fate and time control (conduct) the ticking balance of just how many days we have on this rock to make a difference, or be fulfilled and happy in life. Essentially, these are the same thing in so many ways. Why not be fearless about it all?

Maybe it's a Gemini thing to wonder about duality? For me it's simple. I take risks and believe I choose to live like an emotional daredevil most days because I'm fully aware my heart rules my actions more than most peoples do.I'm at peace with it. I find I live my life to the fullest in this way, and I don't want to put any filters on it. I'm a courageous gambler in the sense I'm old enough to not give a damn what most people think. We've all got one foot in the grave anyway, so what's stopping us from truly living or being happy besides our fear of change or physical loss in this limited realm? nada...zip..zilchø!

"Let the stars ignite."

Hey, if nothing else all this contemplation should make for a nice piece(s).

K~

(P.S. - For those who might not realize this, *note that the old Fumetti/Zora La Vampira horror image is not my artwork.)

Mantis for a friend.

A couple days into the start of August I made
"White Mantis with Orchids" as a THANK YOU gift for my very talented pal Dr. Ann. The Kanji script within, to the best of my research translates to "healer" - or more specifically, referring to the physician's use of hands in the healing process, etc. It is said to be an honourable gesture to bestow this script to one who practices the healing arts or is a medical professional. And I highly recommend her services to all. You can view her website and even sign up for her email list/newsletter by visiting her Healing Orchid site.

This little one is taking a journey by air (via USPS) to her shortly so I hope the trip is smooth. I always worry quite a bit when I send something of mine like this out in the hands of the US mail. After the P.O. visit, I plan to camp out at the coffee shop and do a little sketching - anything outside of the noisy atmosphere created by my immediate neighbors will suffice. Besides, I awoke with the feeling that a productive day is about to begin - damned if I'll let anything stop that from being a reality.


K~

I was right..

I was having too much fun, and thus the entries here have been non-existent. The LA trip was a riot! I do have many pics with a few anecdotes to share. And honestly? More than a few things that I'm keeping to myself but hey..a girl's gotta have some mystery about her, no? And personally, I've gotta have myself shrouded in like 1000 X more than the average chick needs, just to be truly comfortable.



I was to meet up with a friend at Canters Deli on Fairfax last Saturday, and since they were a running tad late I headed over to the thrift shop a few doors down to kill some time. While there, I strolled the aisles and gleefully snatched up a luscious Betsey Johnson boa piece - and for just mere clams too!! Anyway, at check out by the register lo and behold! Lounging casually forgotten amid the shoes, belt buckles, clutches and other designer tschotskes in the glass display counter-case was this old familiar gem above. (And anyone who thinks I mean the Anna Nicole cover issue should probably just stop reading this entry right now.)


Here's a picture worth a thousand words. Funniest thing about the entire occurrence was my nonchalance towards it visually at first glance. I was simply like "Hey, there's a Gucci belt, a pair of 80's Bandolino shoes, and Dad's old playboy..cool." And then, I got so giddy I asked the nice young Jewish sales clerk boy to remove it from the confines of it's glass coffin. I remarked it was the "First one I ever uh, perused when..I was..5...or..6." Oops. Realizing I said that out loud, I trailed off and caught myself. Seeing from the dilation of his pupils and the expression on his face, that this might seem a bit awkward/odd to the young guy. I shifted gears to let the moment pass quickly and did so by asking him the selling price. So as to not make him feel uncomfortable I went the professional eccentric/collector route. Goodness knows LA is full of those. In a very dry manner I mock-inspected the spine and announced:"Oh in that condition the asking price is a tad high for me." And slipped in "I'll just take a quick snapshot instead." (And it actually was too much $ for the grade, truth be told.) He seemed to be happy to be let off-the-hook. I had this picture snapped and decided it would be a nice enough memento of the re-visited memory. Thus, I'd keep the cash to buy a Brooklyn plate at Canters instead.

In all honesty, while that MARCH 1968 issue was my first, it was not my #1 pick of the pile back then. The adult me now knows it was a good one though. Great cover, lovely centerfold, a Peter Max jewelry ad, and it not only has a Truman Capote interview, but it had a feature spread on the Barbarella film. That my first images of that film were viewed in stills is a fond thing to recollect today. Although I later found that Dad had much older ones, PLUS the coveted Vargas postcard collection, it stands to say that overall, Dad had/has damned good taste.

This issue serves as the first copy for me visually speaking, to connect that moment of discovery in my childhood. I'd also 'discovered' several Photoplay and similar mens' magazines, a few with Dad's favourite pin-up Bettie Page. While these facts and names are all realized now, as was the categorization of each being different publications, all that was noted quite later in my life. At 5 or 6, heck, I just had fun with the 'girlie mags'. Sitting in a sunny room and scanning pages full of cheesecake, sweetly photographed bikini gals and models in various poses and states of dress. (..erm..undress?) It all seemed normal to me. Like watching my Mom get ready in the powder room.



I love having this memory to call my own. While I was probably most taken with the illustrations in Dad's collection (Vargas) I recall some of the idyllic and feminine pin-ups made an impression too. While a little goofy, (think Elvgren) even the arranged photo shoots of the era (like let's say..oh..fishing in lingerie or being on afternoon picnic, and your top gets mustard on it.. etc. ) the message was still friendly. Sexy but 'clean' which always = classy to me. I'm pretty fortunate considering some of what I could have been subjected to if I'd been born like a decade or so later in the coke-haZed hustler or oui era. I still feel that early visual influence, possibly a few album covers, and some early leading ladies in the Hammer House of Horror flicks probably helped to define my style and fashion sense as woman later on in life. Perhaps as much as it served to define my decision to be an Artist. Appreciation of form..colour..beauty.

Anyway, to wrap things up I have not seen that issue in some time. Dad got wise to it (or was it Mom?) and they moved them on me. A bunch of times actually. But that it was all understood by my parents to be a very innocently-sweet curiosity and nothing more (which was true) says a lot about my folks. For me, it was the small beginning into my appreciation for pin up art and illustration in printed format. The rest, as they say is history. I'm still forging away - though some days it can be trying. But I wouldn't trade some of the odd experiences like that for anything. These truly serve to define an Artist's path.

More pics from LA and Hollywood to follow soon..that said, I still have to resize them as the downloading itself just didn't happen until today. I'd like to say it was due to 100% fun but it was mainly due to the fact that just a day after getting back from LA I had to trek up North to San Francisco to take care of some paperwork. Which, in my world means it was a perfect excuse to head to the Winchester House in San Jose. That however, is an entire entry in itself....with you guessed it..more pics.