From Big Islands to Big Sur

I found my way to Captain Cooper Elementary in Big Sur, CA right after traveling from the Hawaiian Islands. I worked with artist, Heidi McGurrin. This is the most charming school I have been to. Here is a peek of the mural the children worked on. The kids drew all the animals the other day and today I was going to help Heidi compose the mural and paste the animals in place. This mural will show at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for one day and then it will be at the Monterey Airport for 6 months. The mural is going to be sectioned and framed in five sections.

This mural creation is full of energy from all kids and amazing animals. I hope you Monterey residents and travelers get a chance to check out the work!

Oahu, Hawaii

From the free loving Central Coast of California to the sweet smelling smiling warm breeze of Oahu, Hawaii, the robots and I are having an incredible time. Above are two small water colors that were created on the plane ride over the Pacific Ocean. I have spent four days here and have four more to go. Here is a selection of some of the treats I have eaten and seen here on the island. Below is a shot of Fumi's Shrimp, which was so delicious.

 

On the plane ride over, I scanned through my Hawaiian Air newsletter and found a totally rad mural, so I marked it on the map of things to see while I am here. The mural is in a rough neighborhood behind a chain linked fence, however I found a nice giant cement block to stand on, which the rest of the shots are taken from. This muralist, Estria is an international muralist from Hawaii, I cant even begin to write about all of the positive work the Estria Foundation has done. Check out his site here and his blog here and you should watch this video about the mural in Oahu here. One of the first questions I had when I arrived here was, where do they get their drinking water. Estria's mural would soon open up his heart and soul and let me in to the struggles and celebrations of the people of Oahu. If you are ever here you should check out the mural.

Photographs of plants and invasive birds.

Onward we go to visit Pearl Harbor and get a dose of history. These museums are absolutely amazing and tell the story in so many ways. I was so moved as were the people around me. Below I saw the inside of one of the ships and how it would be living in a submarine.

After Pearl Harbor we checked out another mural, created by the muralist I worked with in 2010. I just had to see what the mural looked like in person, because I had heard so much about it in the studio.

There are silhouettes of butterfly's, which were the Queens favorite.

After the murals we headed to the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu. This museum was once a residence and reminded me a lot of La Mirada in Monterey. So beautiful and unique. I must say the art inside was okay. The plants, sculptures, and murals were my favorite part, go ahead, take a peek.

 

So I leave you with that, this quirky mural near the cafe! Until next time! xo

Connecting the Bots

As I was traveling from point A to point B, I looked at my empty passenger side seat and notice my postcard sitting there.

All of a sudden, "Ah-Ha!" I put the two together. Why not work in water color with the robots, I thought to myself. So This last week, that is what I have been doing. Here is the work I have created in the last week and three days. The water color really brings a certain magic to the robots. I am having  lot of fun with this world of bots, can you tell?

 

Here is a little writing that goes with the above painting.

A school of fish swim by. Two fish friends jump together in the sea. The sailbots adventure, looking for treasure, but who need treasure when you have your best friend by your side.

Here is a little writing for the piece below.

Her love swirled dreams were starting to come true. As her kelp forest painting hangs above her bed, she has dreams filled with love and kindness.

So, with all that squishy love fluttering through your head, I hope you have an excellent week!

Cabrillo College :: Glenn Carter

Last night I went to a reception at Cabrillo College for Glenn Carter "A Guest to the Mystery". If you have not been to Cabrillo College you should, for the art and the view of the bay. To be quite honest this show is refreshing. In Santa Cruz County I am use to seeing more folk art around. It was more than a treat to be in this space and see this high caliber work in the county. I met up with artist Marvin Plummer who introduced me to artist and gallerist Tobin Keller.

This work reminded me a little of the Bonny Doon series from 2010. For what every reason I could not help but to feel...sexual...when I saw this work. I believe it was the strings hanging out of every piece protruding out like penises and the large circles that undulated across the panels that had me thinking of a group of women rolling around in bed, I could only see breasts. Maybe it is the raw materials, minimalist appearance that lets my mind wonder into the realm of sexual pleasure. This is Glenn Carter's interpretation of nature. Nature is raw and nature is sexual.