Saturday: Bean Hollow
Last Saturday, my buddy, Alphonzo, gathered a handful of us at a spot in Half Moon Bay called Bean Hollow. It’s a small alcove for checking out tide pools, bodyboarding, and some awesome bbqs. Alphonzo was able to put together a makeshift smoker and made some very tasty salmon…on top of all the good eats he usually prepared. This guy is a savant when it comes to marinating and preparing sauces. I wasn’t able to enjoy the meats, since becoming a pescatarian, and really haven’t been able to digest gluten for a bit now.
The day was enjoyable even though the traffic down to the spot from the East Bay was terrible. We were definitely enjoying the beach life that day…thanks Saturday, we owe you one.
Below, you can see Mr. Smiley with his impromptu invention…SO SIMPO!
Rebecca and Willard
My coworker is getting married in less than two weeks at SF City Hall. She and her guy were willing participants as part of an ongoing project that will hopefully turn into something more substantial. The day we shot these, Bay 2 Breakers and about six different, large events were taking place in the city. I never, in my 7 years that I lived in SF, maneuvered through such a muck of gridlock and foot traffic. I didn’t believe my eyes, and I didn’t believe my mind. Even though the day was extremely sunny at 10am, we found good use of natural light…and the photo shoot turned out to be successful.
Upper Falls
Just wanted to post a quick image of Upper Falls in Yosemite. Spring is definately the best time to visit!
More images and thoughts to come…
Art Equals Shapes and Patterns
Geometric shapes have always inspired me. Hard and soft lines. No matter which one and if the methodology is combined to make incredible shapes and designs, the more complex or simple, my eyes are always going to be drawn to them.
The print above is by an artist named Alexander Kori Girard. I love the different hues of blue used in this piece. And since blue is my favorite color, the bias is there (check out the history of blue).
There’s also Aztec folk art that I’ve obsessed over for many years. Just to give an example, the Aztec calendar is truly a work of a master genius. I’m not in any way an expert in art or art history and I don’t have the vernacular to describe the essense of my reasonings, but aesthetic beauty aside, it’s just jaw droppingly raw and pure.
Egyptian hieroglyphs fall into this category as well. Lines and rows of patterns really keep the eyes busy, like this one.
Keith Haring. Nothing else needs to be said, right? Inspired…and for me, have always been associated with The Cosby Show.
Navajo folk art is tremendously beautiful in colors and shapes. From simple geometric lines to the ensemble of shapes above, the motif is elegant.
Zio Ziegler is an artist from the Bay Area. If you live in the city or surrounding area, you may have already interpolated the geometric shapes of his work…maybe at Sycamore. I love the skulls he illustrates and paints.
He was very nice to let us into his studio in Mill Valley for a thorough tour which included the swimming pool area (it is quite a traditional sized pool). He art really speaks to a lot of people on many different levels. Visually, his work is very busy (most of his work), chaotic…but with all of those images blending together, somehow Zio makes it comprehensible and extremely accessible and there in lies the beauty of it all. The Zen nature when you start to disassemble, process, and reassemble his work is refreshing and quite serene.
To me, his work resembles many of the above images, artists, and motifs. I have enjoyed exploring art from a laymen’s perspective for a long time…and will continue to do so without bias and boundaries. I just hope to “run into” artists like Zio again in the future who push the passion and hunger of their existence continually and with much zeal and impunity.
Lastly, if you like Zio Ziegler’s work, he does have a show coming up this Friday (April 12th) at the Ian Ross Gallery. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make due medical and personal reasons out of mine and my wife’s control, but please be sure to visit Zio’s work in the SOMA.
To My Wife…
This is not an elegy by any means. However, if we can just look at it as a thought experiment, the what could’ve been or paradox is also powerful. I am sending out a message to my wife…
Many events have lead up to this moment today. Some good and some not so good. All I know is that I count on this woman to be my strength, support, and sounding board. I will always be grateful to her for her courage and patience, sacrifice and willingness to be my best friend.
Don’t ever wait until terrible things happen to say “I love you” to the one that stole your heart.
Copernicus debuts with MC Hammer dance
Copernicus has finally arrived in Oakland! He’s stepping up big time in this stop motion video to pay homage to Oakland native (just like himself) MC Hammer and the song that seems apropos to the non-stop living that this cat displays on a regular basis. If you haven’t gotten a Da Bird for your cat yet, you are completely a bad cat guardian…and worst yet, a terrible person for not giving your cat(s) this glorious cat activity to fulfill his/her/their otherwise drab and dreary, most of the time banal lifestyle.
Why don’t you take a page out of MC Hammer’s 2 Legit 2 Quit remix and Copernicus’ victorious and legendary no quit attitude and buy your cat this toy! Better yet, just dance to this song first, then go buy the toy!
btw: if you’re wondering how to make a stop motion video, check out Bionx’s iStopMotion app!
Smothered Burrito Equality Avatar
I’m not the only one who wants this DOMA business settled soon. However, I like the direction that many are taking to show support against Prop 8 by taking to social media to change avatar images.
Originally an HRC movement and design below, but many like me have gone on to customize our own iterations of this popular symbol of this campaign against Prop 8 and DOMA.
Ben- Proud to support#MarriageEquality. Go red w/ @hrc to show your support. bit.ly/ZTOHIV twitter.com/SenatorCardin/…
— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) March 26, 2013
