Upcoming Sweet 16 Party @ Beauty 5.30.09

Oh yes, and how could I forget! I'm showing some brand spankin' new work this weekend in a one night event. Please join me on Saturday for this:

Sweet 16 Party @ Beauty

Saturday, May 30, 2009
6:00pm - 11:00pm
Location:
Beauty
1633 N. Farwell Ave.
Milwaukee, WI

Celebrate Beauty's 16th anniversary with a night of art, music, film, fashion & fabulousness.

Artists:
Daemon Raphael
Donna Marquart
Rory Kurtz
James Kloiber
Jenipher Sob
Mike McGuiness
Jessica Kaminski
Amanda Contrerus

Video:
Nathianiel Theis
Jason Burczyk
Sam Macon
Dane Haman
Ashley Altadonna

Music:
Tenant Parking Only
4th Street Elevator
Jayk

Fashion:
Amanda Ergen
Mink Clothing
Judi Rath
Boudoir Designs

Hair designs by Julia Newcomb and Younghawk Bautista

Peaches show & gift

Last week I won tickets to the Peaches after set at Smartbar in Chicago, where a friend got my sister & I VIP access so we got to chill in the DJ booth. It was awesome. I was pretty stoked, as I do admire Peaches' music and her piss & vinegar attitude/persona, and admittedly a wee bit tipsy, so hopefully she did not find my spazzocity too annoying! Anyway, I gave her a small piece of artwork as a gift. I figured considering the type of art I generally make and her music, she might appreciate it. She thanked me and she seemed to like it so I was happy.

Drawing I gave to Peaches:


Peaches during her set:


Randomness & good times:
My sister & I

James Amato & I

05.18.09

So much going on lately! When it rains, it pours, eh? This is good tho. I love this pace. I get stir crazy when I don't have a million things going on. I've met some very interesting people lately & am pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Always striving for progress. No time to sit still! Shows coming up, work to frame, new art to make, new friends to meet, adventurous moments to be in, and so on and so forth. I keep saying that I need a vacation, but at the same time I dont want the hassle of breaking up my routine since I am in a good flow. Thats pretty lame, I know. A vacation would be cleansing & give me a whole new perspective I imagine. But I am in a good mental state. I'm pretty darn good at keepin it real. I'm not one to fool myself or play games with people. Yes, I think I might have mastered the art of forgiving myself & moving on. So much time is wasted when you get "stuck". I think I was mentally stuck on a few issues all of which have just worked themselves out and vanished from my thought pattern. Time to move on to better & bigger things! I have no time to waste. No one knows whats best for me except me. I'm not into it when other people tell me what I should or should not be doing. Trust me, I know what I am doing. Sometimes its not always the "best" thing, but its what I feel like doing so I do it anyway because I feel like it. Like I could get out there an paint a bunch of landscapes that my heart isnt in just to sell them, but I dont want to. I pursue the things that make me feel passionate. But just as easily I tire of those things if I'm not getting what I want out of it anymore. Thats how it goes. Art projects started with so much passion, but sometimes these things go astray. Sometimes I just wake up & feel completely different about a project. I guess thats how the unfinished projects heap grows. Sometimes my feelings just change. Oh well. Thats prob why I have a tendency to work fast and act on impulse. You just never know with these things!

I have a lot of things to tend to this evening, but I am running on fumes today! Only 3 hours of sleep last night ;) Can I do it? Can I push on thru and be productive tonight? My guess is yes. I can do it! I can do anything! I can & I will, because I don't have time to waste. Life is just too short for that nonsense. :)

05.09.09

I finally got around to scanning some interviews and adding them to my website, after, oh I donno, like 5 years passed. LOL Better late than never I suppose. It was interesting to read them and see what is unchanged about the way I think and also how my views on some things are very different. Seeing your own growth and transformation is like an artistic process. I enjoy documenting the various stages of a piece of art that I am working on, photographing it in the line drawing phase, and then a few times during the painting phase. I've done seemingly a lot of looking back at old photos and memories lately. It makes me feel good about where I am and how far I've come, though I continue to strive for progress always. I just don't think that I am the type of person to ever decide, 'Ok, I've done enough. I can chillax now.' Yeah, thats just not gonna happen, like ever. But thats good! Its what you call drive.

Anyway, I plan to photograph and post some new art on the site soon as I get a chance. The look of the site will also be revamped whenever I wrap my head around where I want to go with it. It will prob always be a very basic, simple, clean looking page however, considering that I do it all myself in html. Less is more, no?

I've chosen which pieces I'm going to show at the Beauty Sweet 16 party the last Saturday this month. Now I just have to frame it, and thats the easy part for me. Choosing the work is always the hard part, but I am confident I picked works that have a cohesive theme. Also noteworthy that they are all new works so this will be the first time I am showing them.

Ah, and the most exciting thing that I can report is that Brent (Cedar Block) and I spoke last night to discuss several art event happenings. Lots of stuff in the works. We are both actively working hard on planning & lining up venues. Dates are yet to be firmed up. But its gonna happen. Oh yes. Its gonna happen. Stay tuned!!!

What I've been up to.

I've been an art making machine lately. This is good. I am really loving it. The more art I make, the more I want to make. I am really in a productive mindset and quite pleased about it. Not so pleased with getting guilted out by people for being busy tho. That bums me out. If I am busy & being productive, I am happy, and you should be happy for me, otherwise you are being a selfish fool. Trust me, when you are busy I miss your sweet ass too, but I am happy nonetheless when I know my pals are happy. It motivates me.

I have a fantastic idea for a big project I cant wait to start. Its going to be one big series. I need to do some research first. I can hardly wait to launch into this one. Like digging your fingers into damp earth in spring. I can smell it in the air. I can almost taste it. I long for it. But I cant get ahead of myself. This project has been brewing in the back of my mind for a while. Not good to be too eager, just gotta let it flow naturally. Not going to force this one, that only tends to backfire. This needs finessing.

Trying to get a big group show organized. Finding a suitable venue is tough. It is even tougher because I am busy at work and dont always have the time to make all the calls/emails I need to. Once I do nail down a space & a date, its on yo. I have SOOOOOO many ideas for this show. Its gonna be hott. Its hard for me to sit still when I have this much inspiration & drive. Likely this is prob why I have had an issue with insomnia again on and off lately. Comes with the territory of having the mania. Sometimes sleep deprivation is a minor side effect from making progress. Just try to go with it. Fighting is futile. It is what it is. Speaking of sleep deprivation, this lil lady needs some beauty rest.

I am what I am. Get ovs.

Something really valuable occurred to me tonight. Not really totally new, maybe a revisited theme in my life, but whatevs it is what it is.

I'm kind of a loudish gal. I got a bit of spunk. Charisma. Whatevs. I don't try to hide it. Its part of me, love it or leave it. I refuse to downplay a huge part of my character due to some one else's insecurities or inability to deal with it. Those who are close to me love me unconditionally, as I do them. Any other way is bullshit.

I will not hide behind false pretenses, toning down my character, I dont play games with hidden messages, I say what I mean and I mean what I say. Don't assume that my duty in life is to figure out some sort of riddle. Need I remind everyone else I am absorbed in my own drama, just like the rest of the world, focused on my own goings-on & responsibilities. I know everyone else has their own agenda, and that is why I generally dont get bent out of shape over things. Im busy, your busy, we're all busy, arent we?!

I do not need to apologize because my art is not generally filled with subversive political hidden messages and whatnot. All due respect, I may hold yall in high regard for making that kind of art, but I certainly feel as though I am due a little respect too. There may be a lot of vaginas and breasts and 'obscenity' and the like in my art, but do not make the mistake of underestimating me, writing me off like that. I see right through it and it just gets on my nerves. I assure you, my randomness is completely calculated. It bums me out that no matter how far we seem to come as a species, theres just a little something lacking. Come on now guys. We can do better than that, cant we??? Gah.

Perhaps that is the point I've been trying to get across all this time.

I am perfectly capable of figuring shit out on my own. Trust me. I do it all the time. I just dont always make a big deal of it.

Ugh. Tomorrow I will likely feel completely different about the whole thing. Perhaps I will think its not burdensome at all to play the silly games and I will have all the energy in the world for it. Maybe partially its being a chickenshit on my part, and maybe its partially thinking what a total waste of time it all is. Whatever. I am not into playing guessing games. Dont pinch me under the table and assume that it should mean something. If you have a problem with me, f***ing tell me so. If you feel like you want to confess something to me, then do it. Otherwise, it bores me a little bit. I just need a little honesty and sincerity.

I'm going to go to bed now with the one person who I know is completely authentic 100% of the time. Me. G'nite yall.