le friday.

i know i say this every friday, but this week really flew by. i think it was because i taught two extra yoga classes and had an especially large pile of work on my desk (good thing i LIKE it!). in the last few weeks, i have begun making space in my brain for a few new, big projects: a series of commissioned pieces and some larger drawings for my lovely parents, just to name a few. during these times, i find my yoga practice especially necessary. that and staring at a blank wall or piece of paper or just out the window in silence. i need that space. when ideas come easily, it is equally easy to become overwhelmed by them to the point of insomnia or nervous-energy explosions-- that is, if i'm not practicing all of my rituals: morning meditation every day, whole yoga, spilling the contents of my brain into a notebook, practicing restorative yoga before bed, getting into nature, looking away from the computer.... all that. if i'm doing all that, then it's all good in the hood.

a little warm-up. i like these colors.

speaking of the 'hood. i realize that i haven't written any tales from the 'hood in quite awhile. maybe this is because we had a lull in shootings after the fatal one down the block this winter. i can tell that spring has sprung, though, because i have noticed an increase in the number of discarded crack baggies on the ground during my morning walks. mostly of the superman and nike swoosh variety (you know... for athletes! just kidding.).
in honor of FRIDAY, here are my up-to-the moment things i LOVE about my neighborhood:
super-sweet new neighbors who make beer and share our love of gardening.
delicious Ethiopian food. we have a great place within a block, but for summer, i LOVE to sit on the patio here-- it's about 4 blocks away.
my neighborhood coffee shop. the owners are the sweetest, and they make delicious delicious lattes.
we are getting a new p-patch!
being able to ride my bike everywhere.
walking to the lake on saturday mornings.
friday peace rally on the corner.
the farmers' market!

Brief hiatus.

I am unplugging the computer tonight, because I need to paint the room where it lives this weekend. (the color, incidentally, is MAJOR. i promise to show lots of photos as soon as i have muscled through the painting part.) That being said, I have been so busy creating this week and want to share all of the lovely-ness with you. Thus, I'll be tossing up a few posts between now and whenever I disconnect. Here is a little portrait of an elf. He just came to me when I was channeling my inner-Bowie.

David Bowie Sky.

The story behind this piece begins with David Bowie, whom I have really dug my whole life. What fantastic characters he has created for himself over the span of his life. Amazing. There is another part of my David Bowie love that inspired this sketch, and that is my favorite Phish song: "David Bowie." Oh it's quite lovely. Sometimes my art is just about people or things I dig. Ya dig?

David Bowie, 1971

Me, My Brother and David Bowie, 1971
Originally uploaded by ozoni11

Have I mentioned how rad I think David Bowie is? Well, I do. And the colors in this photo (are they real?), are perfection! Apparently, the photographer spent some time with D.B. when he first arrived stateside in 1971. I could dig that.

The Day After

Oh my goodness things were hot on the street last night.

A group of kids even lit a roman-candley thing in my driveway at about 2.30 this morning. It is a bit disconcerting, since we do have the occasional shooting around these parts and the pop-pop of anything is a bit terrifying when it is close enough to smell.

The aftermath was quite interesting: Shyla and I took our walk this morning at 7.15 and there was no trace of life on the street. We had our walk to ourselves until we crested the next hill east and entered the much fancier neighborhood of Madrona.

I am still fascinated by all the goings on around my house.

Another postcard from the hood

The street was hot this morning in our neighborhood. By hot I mean that there were quite a number of folks still up from last night when we took Shyla for her morning walk. They were all quite friendly and pleasant, so no complaints here. One of the regular characters in our neighborhood is a fellow I call the Runner. He runs everywhere, day and night, rain and heat. He is the first person I saw as I unloaded our moving truck this March. I said "hello" to him not knowing that he is either cracked out or severely mentally ill or both-- and he responded by looking in my direction, but looking through me or around me or someway just not connecting. I think I saw him peeing in my neighbor's yard once (that or he was unzipping his pants for some other purpose). Here is a first sketch of the Runner.

Postcards from the hood

Without getting too personal, I'll note that my neighborhood has some interesting characters roaming around. For those to whom I have not yet been properly introduced, I give them little nicknames. One of these characters is named Gold Helmut. I painted her one day.