Best Art Studio, EVER!

This picture doesn't even show the flat file, the back room (with painting storage, drafting table, work table #2, supply shelves, and paper rack), the sewing / book inventory room, the bathroom, the kitchen with mini-fridge and microwave, bike storage, bookcase alcove, the houseplant that will not die, iPod dock, and wall-mounted pencil sharpener. It is the last affordable storefront in Oakland, has bike racks outside, south-facing windows, and a yard behind it (with skatepond). Yeah, I think it can be stated that we have the best studio set-up for the money in the East Bay, maybe all of California.

Sometimes the crack-n-booze lurkers and liquor store litter and yelling pedestrians and Crab Shak parking lot riff-raff and constant noise from the car wash and passing busses and all that gets me down. But, really, how jaded am I to not constantly be thanking the fates for this place. Actually, it is amazing how little art I get done considering this setting.

Here are some more studio photos.

Upper Sparks Juxtaplayground

I headed out to SF (aka the City) last Saturday to check in at Upper Playground's Ignite Sparks Art Tour thing with Saber and Dave Choe. UP's video guy couldn't make the rest of the tour and I was hoping to skitch onto their coattails and video the Northwest portion of the trip. Welp, that didn't work out, but it was nice to hang with David while he signed autographs and drew pictures of Spawn in peoples sketchbooks (look for them on eBay any day now).
The whole event was strange, with a room full of gawkers drinking free sparks and watching Dave paint really slowly. It was not a very dynamic event (-ahem- these things usually look a lot better in time lapse). It was actually pretty cool to see how Saber constructed his imagery, though. I felt a bit odd being lumped in with the fanboys when really I just wanted to show some support for Dave. Especially considering all he has done for me recently (he was angling to get me on the tour). I just about got over it all but then Juxtapoz.com dropped this photo:
The caption of the photo labeled me as an "onlooking admirer". I would say I'm more of a well-wisher, in that I don't wish David Choe any specific harm. It is weird talking to your friend while 30 hipsters are taking photos of you. That dude is a rock star.

The whole aversion to hipster openings, coupled with the disappointment of not getting the video gig, left me a little down. I felt better then next day when Dave texted (it's crazy the word "text" just recently became a verb) me saying thanks for coming out. Dave may be a hyped-up, super-jocked, criminally minded art rebel, but he is also a pretty good friend. Hope the rest of the tour goes well. Remember, I'm still available for the East Coast leg.

Video of the Upper Sparks Juxtaplayground tour is online from Walrus TV.

I also checked-out Deth P. Sun's new art show at GRSF, which is great, and Marci Washington and Michele Blade were part of a fancy shin-dig at the SF Arts Commission gallery at City Hall. This isn't one of those art opening photo blogs so you'll have to find pictures elsewhere.

Naptime

Narangkar and Roo. They're both so cute.

Chicago

Now I'm finally posting a few of the digital pictures we took on our recent trip to Chicago. The folks at Scion flew Narangkar and myself there (only two lay-overs) for two days of sight-seeing and film festering to promote the video project I did with David Choe earlier this year. Nice.

With only two days in the Windy City we took in the Art Institute, the Contemporary Art Museum (terrible), Quimby's bookstore (Junk Pirate represent), and a sweet Chicago steakhouse next to Millenium Park. We hooked up with our good freind Stephanie Dean, who moved to Chicago a few years ago and is killing it with her photography. Our camera battery died after the first night.

We got in too late for a proper dinner our first night so it was greasey chinese take-out in the hotel room. Yum.


Bacon.


Impressionism at the Art Institute. Awesome collection.

Not photographed was the rainy weather on our other day there, the giant steak I ate, the awesome Surgical Museum, the awful military air show, champagne and tuna tartar, the film festival, brunch at Toast, Chicago style pizza that isn't as good as Zachary's, the Blue line train, and a problem with the hotel bill. Thanks to all.

Narangkar wrote a blog about the Jeff Wall photo exhibit we saw. Check it out here.

Tobias video

I finally worked out the kinks and got this vintage footage of a young Tobias the cat doing what he did best: losing a battle with a ballpoint pen and crawling around upside down under the futon. This footage was recorded and digitized for a DVD-rom game I made at art school called "Tobias' World". The object was to explore my studio apartment as Tobias the cat and get into adventures like scratching an empty pizza box or meowing for food. Eventually you could try to escape into the hallway. I got an 'A' on the project.

German Skatepond?

I just browsed onto a blog featuring a German (I think) skatepond called Sewerside. I have no idea what the blog says but the photos look like some sweet concrete. Check it out: Sewerside blog. I tried to paste some image here but it's not workin so see for yourself.

While on the topic of skateponds, it looks like a good time to post some of my favorite Skatepond pictures:

Jacob Tillman kills it barefoot at night!


Jackson Taylor from back when the Skatepond was "the Kahuna Bowl". Photo by Dave Franklin.


Nic Skum slashes a frontside layback on a board older than he is.


A mariachi band plays in the pond back in 2005.

Maybe I'll post more pics soon of other Skatepond memories. In the meanwhile, keep me updated about any other skatepond photos out there on the net!

Trip out

Sorry I haven't posted an update in a bit but things get busy and one must prioritize. Among the many, many things I've been doing, I recently churned out a batch of new posters for our gallery and online fine arts bookstore, Rowan Morrison. They are psychedelic stencil posters and I made about 20 of them and each one is totally unique and different. I'll probably make an official edition on archival paper and have it for sale at the gallery, but in the meanwhile I plan of posting these bad boys up all over. I decided that each poster that I put up will be unique. If you see one you like in a specific color, just let me know and I can make one custom for you (I'm assuming it is mostly firends and family who will be reading this, otherwise it may cost you some change). So, here is a compilation of about 17 of the posters I made. Let me know what colors you like.